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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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
- judithwilliams47@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Judith Williams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <judithwilliams47@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:09:06 -0700
Subject: ATTENTION
Hello,
Due to the unsuccessful search for the relatives of a client who died several years ago and
left an unclaimed account in our bank, am seeking your assistance for the remittance of
the funds left in this account. I realize that we can claim the funds if you apply
legitimately to my bank with the documents with the right documents, hence I am
seeking your cooperation to help claim the US$14.5M left by the deceased client for our
mutual benefits. This transaction will be supported by legal documentations so you have
nothing to worry about because the funds will be remitted to your account in accordance
with the foreign remittance procedures of my bank without any breach of the laws. Our
advantage in this transaction is that nobody has ever contacted my bank for the funds
release since the demise of the client.
If you are interested in my proposal, kindly indicate your interest and I will provide you
with every detail for a successful completion of this transaction without hitches. Thanks
for your anticipated cooperation as I look forward to a good business relationship with
you.
Details herein contact person: Mrs Judith Williams
judithwilliams47@gmail.com
Mrs Judith Williams
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Anti-fraud resources:
