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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:
- "to your nominated bank account" (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)
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "D.R.C" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <onlinelaboratory@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 9 Jun 2013 23:53:10 +0200
Subject: Fraud Alert!!!
Dear Beneficiary,
I am Mr.Roberto Perez,the head of european debt recovery committee and corrupt practise investigation panel.
It has gotten to our attention that you have an overdue payment which has been delayed by certain unscrupulous officials who are presently being investigated by our committee in collaboration with the INTERPOL.
For the immediate remittance of your overdue payment,you are advised to co-operate with this committee by following these simple instructions:
1. Stop all communications with them and remain discrete about our contact with you,to avoid jeopardizing our investigation process.
2. Forward all previous correspondence between yourself and the bank/security company regarding your overdue payment to our mailbox.
We look forward to your prompt response,to enable us effectively remit your funds to your nominated bank account.
Ms Susan Dumpster
For Mr. Roberto Perez
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Anti-fraud resources:
