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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "hundred thousand united states 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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Lee Yeol <leegtrg1@msn.com>
Reply-To: <yeol_lee@yahoo.co.kr>
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:25:44 +0000
Subject: Memo: Please read and get back to me
Dear friend,I am the Senior Deputy Governor of Bank of Korea.My name is Lee Ju Yeol, I have a sensitive and private offerfrom the top executive to seek your partnership in re-profilingsome offshore investment funds worth 11.5M U.S.D (Eleven Millionfive hundred thousand United States Dollars) I am constrained howeverto withhold most of the details for now. This is a legitimate transaction.If we agree on the terms you will be given 15% of the total funds.If you are interested and willing to render your assistance pleaserespond back via email with your name and telephone number.I look forward to your response.Best regards,Lee Ju Yeol
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Anti-fraud resources:
