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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:
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: AJPCM <ajpcm@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: ajpcm1@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2012 20:42:30 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: HELLO
Greetings to you.
Please
don't be offended or surprise to receive this letter since you don’t
know me personally, but do treat this request as a call from somebody in
dire need of your kind assistance, Before i forget let me introduce
myself to you, My name is Miss. Natalie Amitsha the only child and
daughter to late Mr. Theodore Amitsha my father was the former director
in the Gold and mining cooperation in our country Republic of Mali
before the resent coup that took place last few months.Â
My mother died when I was still a baby.
My
father was assassinated by the opposition parties during the coup, and
after the death of my father I find some important documents proving the
deposit of some money that my father deposited in the bank in Cote
D’Ivoire. I secretly took those documents and relocated to Cote D’Ivoire
for the safety of my life. I have also confirmed the existence of the
fund with the bank.
I
will need your sincere assistance to help me to transfer the fund from
the bank here to your
country so that I can be in your country to continue my education while
you use the money for a good business investment that will be good for
my future.
While
replying back I will like you to tell me more about yourself and also
send me your direct telephone number for our easy communication.Â
You can find my picture through the attached file.
My best Regards,
Miss. Natalie Amitsha.
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Anti-fraud resources:
