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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:
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: "Abbas Bin Hassan" <abbasbinhassan2@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: abbasbinhassan1@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 5 Oct 2010 17:28:07 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: Please advise this mail
Good Day
I am Barrister Abbas Bin Hassan from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia,I want you to
stand as next of kin to my late client because you bears the same last
name with him.I will provide all legal documents to back you up in this
claim.The money involve is $5.5 million USD to be transfer to your account
or your position.The share ratio is 45 percent for you while 55 percent
for me.Reply this mail urgent for more details on how we going to progress
regarding this project,and your earliest response to this letter will be
appreciated.
Please treat this business with utmost confidential and send me the
following detail to enable me contact you and also to start the legal
proceedure immediately:
(1) Full names:
(2) Private phone number:
(3) Current residential address:
(4) Occupation:
(5) Age and Sex:
Kind Regards,
Mr Abbas Bin Hassan Esq
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Anti-fraud resources:
