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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:
- "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Ayesha Azeem Almerteja" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ayesha.azeem.almerteja@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2011 07:44:58 -0000
Subject: I Shall Await Your Response!!!
Hello my dear,
How is your day!! i hope you are having a great day!!.
I am Mrs Ayesha Azeem Saad Almerteja, I'm 42 years old of age from North Africa, presently i am residing in the refugee camp here in Accra Ghana (in Western Africa) as a result of the civil war that is happening in my country LIBYA now. My husband late Abdelwanis Saad Almerteja was the managing director and CEO of (an oil company) Arabian Gulf Oil Company.
The rebels attacked our house one early morning last month and killed him, which i had to ran for my dear life and with the help of the United Nation and Red Cross Charity Society i managed to make my way to this country Ghana where i am living now in the refugee camp as a refugee, my husband deposited the sum $40.5Million in a Security Company here in Ghana which i want invest abroad.
Should you be interested to help Kindly get back to me your earliest response to this mail will be highly appreciated.
I awaits hearing from you soonest
Sincerely yours
Mrs. Ayesha Azeem Almerteja.
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Anti-fraud resources:
