419 scam: Maxwell Johnson <lovingumuch2@sbcglobal.net> Treat as urgent please.

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:
- "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: Maxwell Johnson <lovingumuch2@sbcglobal.net>
Reply-To: "maxwell.johnson02@live.com" <maxwell.johnson02@live.com>
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:35:33 +0000
Subject: Treat as urgent please.

Good Day,

I am a US citizen, presently serving in Mosul,Iraq. I have a very urgent need for assistance that is why i want to introduce this business proposal to you, I will disclose and provide adequate proof of my identity,and also explain how I got your contact,but I must have some assurances that you will not use such delicate information against me. I feel quite safe reaching you through this medium,although it has been greatly abused, it still remains one of the fastest and cheapest means of communication, this is also apart from the fact that I have very restricted access to other means of communication.

However, this correspondence is unofficial and should be treated as such.I have to urgently move some money out of here to a safe country as soon as i can have some assistance, and I have discovered a secure way of doing so, I will explain the source of money to you when I am convinced that you sincerely want to work with me, but I assure you of your safety as far as this project is concerned.

Concealing this money here has been a big problem/source of distraction to me, what I require from you now is the assurance that you will honor my conditions, mostly as regards taking care of my share until I complete my service here, and preserving all information relating to this.I am offering you three million dollars ($3,000,000) for your prospective role, but should you have reasons to reject this offer, please destroy this mail as any leakage will be too bad for us. I will continue with the details when you signify your intention to work with me.

Respectfully,
Sgt. Maxwell Johnson

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam