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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:
- "cheques " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- "availablejob@live.co.uk" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Tade Williams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <availablejob@live.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2010 06:55:28 -0700
Subject: Extra income offer
Dear Sir/ma
Global technology limited is a diversified technology and manufacturing company
based in England, we seeking part or full time employees for our ever-growing Accounts
Receivable Department
JOB RESPONSIBILITY
The position of Accounts Receivable officer entails the following duties:
1. Cheques or Mo's will be issued and mailed to you from our clients
2. Process Cheques/MO's at your local financial institution
3. Forward 90 percent of funds received to one of our branches and keep the remaining 10 percent
as your wage
Every assignment in form of Cheques/MO's received from clients, you're entitled to
10 percent which excludes the cost of sending funds to any regional office
Respond if you willing to take the offer to availablejob@live.co.uk
Tade Williams
Director, Human Resources
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Anti-fraud resources:
