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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:
- "confidential business" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Robb Moore" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <robbmore11@rediffmail.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2011 18:02:06 +0100
Subject: Business is TRUST
RE: For your consideration:
Sir,
This is a Confidential Business Proposal that might interest you, please read carefully and reply as soon as possible..
I am the Group General Manager of Barclays Bank of Ghana-limited and hereto used my Good Office to discover the sum of US$71.8millionthat was abandoned in our Bank for 23 years as a result of Death of the Beneficiary.Furthermore, I would like to partner with you to claim the aforementioned Funds with a sharing ratio of 50:50.There is no risk/legal implication involved. Send me your Private Telephone Numbers for discussion of this offer in further details.
Thank you.
Respectfully
Mr. Robb Moore
Group General Manager.
Barclays Bank of Ghana Limited.
Republic of Ghana. West Africa.
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Anti-fraud resources:
