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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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)
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- greatminds005@shuf.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: prayer man <prayingman01@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:55:41 +0100
Subject: Attn:Dear Friend,
17th Jun,2013
Attn:Dear Friend,
RE:TRANSFER OF $10.5M
Pardon me for getting in touch with you through this medium it is
because of the exigency and nature of this deal.Well my name is
Shedrack Ulis and i am the regional manager of a commercial bank and
by reason of my position i have the sum of TEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED
THOUSAND DOLLARS which belongs to one of our customers who died in a
ghastly car accident since 2008 and up until now no one has come to
lay claim to his funds in our bank not even his next of kin,we tried
endlessly to contact them but all to no avail.
So where you come in or why i have decided to contact you is because
he shares the same surname with you so i have decided to present you
as his next of kin and prepare documents in your name and tender it so
that the funds can be disbursed to you.So for accepting to help us in
this deal i am offering you 25% of the total sum while i and my
colleagues would share the remaining 75%.
If you are interested please get back to me with the following information:
1.YOUR FULL NAMES/ADDRESS
2.TEL/FAX NUMBERS
3.AGE AND SEX
4.ANY FORM OF IDENTIFICATION i.e your drivers license or int"L PASSPORT by scan
Upon receipt of the following items i shall proceed to give you
further details on how we intend to transfer the money to your
nominated bank account and as soon as you receive it,i shall come over
to your country for our own share.
Please this deal is strictly confidential and should not be let out.I
would equally appreciate it if you can send a copy of your response to
this email address:greatminds005@shuf.com
Thank you once again for finding time to read through my proposal.
Do remain blessed.
Yours Truly,
Shedrack Ulis
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Anti-fraud resources:
