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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:
- "dearest one," (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "waiting for your urgent response" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a orphan scam.
Fraud email example:
From: NORA DICKSON RAHAL <noradr.1993@live.fr>
Reply-To: noradr.1993@yahoo.fr
Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2012 06:28:24 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Re: I will be grateful.
Re: I will be grateful.
My dearest one,
I am Miss Nora Dickson Rahal, from Ivory Coast and I am contacting you because I need your urgent help in the management of a sum of money that my late father left for me before he died. This money is: ($6. 975,000) Six Million Nine Hundred and Seventy Five Thousand United States American Dollars and the money is in this bank.
My father was a very rich cocoa farmer and he was poisoned by his business colleagues here in our country and my late father was fly to a private hospital at London UK. And there he died before he was brought back home here in our country for his burial. Now my late father business colleagues are after my life due to I refused to give out my late father documents files to them. I run out from our home and have been hiding for them not to take my late father documents files.
I want you to stand as my guardian and appointed foreign beneficiary next of kin to my late father and receive the money in your account at your country since I am only 19years and without parents, for you to assist me invest the money in humanity welfare program on social service. Please I will like you to reply to this email very urgent, so that I will tell you all the information so that this money will be transferred to your account at your country there and you will help me get papers to travel to your country to continue my education there.
Nora Dickson Rahal.
Thanks, I am waiting for your urgent response.
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Anti-fraud resources:
