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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:
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a orphan scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "MISS. MIRIAM" <rexduller@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: missmiriam63@live.com
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2010 10:51:42 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: MISS. MIRIAM
I AM VERY SORRY FOR APPROACHING YOU THROUGH THIS WAY KNOWING MY MESSAGE WILL COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE SINCE I DON'T KNOW YOU
OR MET WITH YOU BEFORE BUT AM OF THE BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD BE OBLIGED TO COME TO MY ASSISTANCE AFTER HEARING ABOUT MY
SITUATION.
I AM MIRIAM ,18 YEAR OLD GIRL, I WAS FORMERLY A MEDICAL STUDENT OF UNIVERSITY OF GHANA.LATE LAST YEAR OCTOBER 2009,THE REBELS
IN MY COUNTRY STRUCK OUR TOWNSHIP AND KILL MY PARENTS BECAUSE MY FATHER WAS A POLITICAL LEADER IN MY COUNTRY GHANA.BEFORE HIS
DEATH HE HAS $5.5 M USD IN A DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT WITH A BANK IN LONDON WHICH I AM THE NEXT OF KIN.PLEASE I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE
IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS.
1) TO SERVE AS THE GUARDIAN OF THIS FUND
2) TO PROVIDE A BANK ACCOUNT WHERE THIS MONEY WOULD BE TRANSFERRED
3) TO MAKE
ARRANGEMENT FOR ME TO COME OVER AFTER THIS MONEY IS TRANSFERRED
4) TO LOOK FOR A GOOD VENTURE WHERE THIS MONEY WILL BE INVESTED,I AM WILLING TO OFFER YOU 20% OF THE TOTAL SUM AS COMPENSATION
OF YOUR EFFORT AND 5% FOR ANY OTHER EXPENSES YOU MADE AFTER A SUCCESSFUL TRANSFER
THANKS AND GOD BLESS YOU
SINCERELY
MISS. MIRIAM
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Anti-fraud resources:
