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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:
- "million 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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "mrjohn_d1@ymail.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mr John Davis <mrjohn_davis@yahoo.com.ph>
Reply-To: mrjohn_d1@ymail.com
Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 08:44:40 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: ATM Card Number 7302716800410641)
ATM Card Number 7302716800410641)
I am Mr John Davis (House Of Assembly Speaker). This letter is to officially inform you that (ATM Card Number 7302716800410640) has been accredited with your favor. Your Personal Identification Number is 1090.The VISA Card Value is $21,000,000.00(Twenty One Million Dollars Only). This office will send to you an Visa/ATM CARD that you will use to withdraw your funds in any ATM MACHINE CENTER or Visa card outlet in the world with a maximum of $25,000.00(Twenty Five Thousand US Dollars only)daily.
Further more,you will be required to re-confirm the following information to enable in order to Begin the processing of your VISA CARD.
(1)Full names:
(2)Address:
(3)Country:
(4)Nationality:
(5)Phone #:
(6)Age:
(7)Occupation:
(8)Post Codes:
Best Regards.
Senator John Davis.
Federal House of Senate
Email: mrjohn_d1@ymail.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
