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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:
- "wesleybrian@gmx.com" (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: "facebook lottery team" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <wesleybrian@gmx.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2010 08:06:58 -0400
Subject: You Are A Facebook Lottery Winner.
Dear Member and Winner,
Congratulations! You are among the few 50 Lucky Winners selected
for Facebook 2010 €1 Million British Pound Lottery Promo drawn last night.
Please contact your Facebook Funds Manager with a proof of
identication for claim.
Mr.Wesley Brian
Facebook Funds Manager.
e-Mail: wesleybrian@gmx.com
You are adviced to contact the Manager in-charge as soon as possible,
failure to do so might result to funds been returned unclaimed.
Thank You
FaceBook Lottery Team.
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Anti-fraud resources:
