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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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.
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- 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.
- mrpatrickcook@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "MR PATRICK COOK" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrpatrickcook@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 08:52:23 +0200
Subject: FUND TRANSFER INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.
Greetings from South Africa
This message might take you by surprise, however, it’s just my urgent need for a foreign partner that made me to contact you for this transaction. I am a banker by profession from Mpumalanga, South Africa and currently holding the post of Director of the Auditing and Accounting unit of the bank.
I have the opportunity of transferring the left over funds ($17.5million) from our banks deceased customer the late Richard Burson, who died in (Egypt Air Flight 990) along with his family on a plane crash below. Http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/502503.stm.
Hence I am inviting you for a business deal where this money can be shared between us in the ratio of 65/35 as a brotherhood.
If you agree to my business proposal, further details of the transfer will be forwarded to you as soon as I receive your return mail.
I am expecting your urgent respond.
1. NAME IN FULL:................................
2. ADDRESS:.......................................
3. NATIONALITY:...................................
4. AGE:.............................................
5. Sex..............................................
6. OCCUPATION:......................................
7. MARITAL STATUS:..................................
8. PHONE............................................
9. FAX:.............................................
Respectfully yours,
Mr. Patrick Cook.
Please kindly use this mail for all of our communications mrpatrickcook@yahoo.co.uk and contact me on my direct phone +27 784485802
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Anti-fraud resources:
