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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Barbara Graham" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <barbara.graham36@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 5 May 2010 00:06:26 +0100
Subject: TO CLAIM/RECEIVE YOUR FUND
RE: TO CLAIM/RECEIVE YOUR FUND
My name is Barbara Graham of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) claims investigation department.
An attached picture with a letter of change of beneficiary/ownership was received in our office here in London UK today requesting that your unclaimed fund be paid to Messer Jacobs Enterprises.
In the said letter of change of beneficiary/ownership, representatives of Messer Jacobs enterprises states that you are dead and as such your fund should be paid to him as the next of kin to you.
Because of the elaborate global scam, we decided to contact you for confirmation. If after four working days no response is received from you, it will be assumed that you are dead and as such authorization and approval
will be granted on behalf of Messer Jacobs enterprises to claim/receive your fund.
Reconfirm your Information and how you want your fund paid to you without further delay if you are still alive.
Yours sincerely,
Barbara Graham
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Anti-fraud resources:
