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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam
The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.
Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.
Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!
Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.
Click here to report a problem with this page.
Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:
- This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Ellen Scott" <letlivelive@rogers.com>
Reply-To: ellenellen17@yahoo.cn
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:03:06 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Read With Understanding
My Dear,
It is my pleasure to contact you for a business venture which I intend to
establish in your country. Though I have not met with you before but I
believe one has to risk confidence to succeed sometimes in life.
There is this huge amount of Seven million Five Hundred Thousands U.S
dollars (7.500.000.00 which my late Father kept with a Fiduciary Fund
Holder in Abidjan before his death Now, I have decided to invest this
money in your country or anywhere safe enough outside Africa for security
and political reasons.
I want you to assist me claim and retrieve this fund from the Fiduciary
Fund Holders and transfer it into your personal account in your country
for investment purposes on these areas: 1). Telecommunication 2). the
transport industry 3). Five star hotel If you can be of any assistance to
me I will be pleased to offer to you 20% of the total fund.
I await your soonest response
Respectfully yours,
Ms. Ellen Scott
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Anti-fraud resources:
