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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:
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- paul.swan01@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Mr Paul Swan <ptt234stt02@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: paul.swan01@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 02 Oct 2010 19:57:34 +0100
Subject: VERY IMPORTANT!!{Read and Reply}
FROM: Mr. Paul Swan
Union Bank Of Switzerland(UBS)
Liverpool - UK.
Good Day,
TRANSFER OF US$218 MILLION TO YOUR ACCOUNT.
I am a banker. I work in the credit and accounts Department as the Head of
Banking and Treasury. This is an investment/partnership business
proposal which
I believe, will be of mutual benefit to both of us.
I need your co-operation to transfer the above mentioned sum out of United -
Kingdom to your account. I am confident that you will give your
consideration to
this proposal and response positively within a short period of time. I am
available to discuss this proposal with you and to answer any
questions you may
have in regard to this fund.
As soon as you give your positive response to this proposal, I will
not hesitate
in sending you the details information of this business. This transaction is
100% RISK FREE.
I look forward to discussing this opportunity further with you.
REPLY TO: paul.swan01@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Mr. Paul Swan
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Anti-fraud resources:
