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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million united states 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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Yengeni" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <yengeni@abv.bg>
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 15:45:02 -0000
Subject: I AM WAITING FOR YOUR RESPONSE
>From lady T.Yengeni,
WESSELSBRON-south African
Dear Friend, My name is Mrs.Lumka Yengeni a south African Parliamentarian Wife. I got your Contact through a personal research .I am the Wife to Mr.Tony Yengeni . Mr Yengeni was the chairman of parliament's in south Africa and the former chief whip of the ruling political party ANC. My Husband (MR. T.YENGENI), as a result of trust and Confidence has mandated that I search for a Reliable and trustworthy foreign partner,who Will help receive this fund Total of(fifteen Million United States Dollars) into a personal / company or any Reliable foreign bank account for safe keeping and investment. Since our family bank accounts in the country have all been Frozen by the authorities. this money was already in Ghana that is why it safe from south African government knowing about it , You can check the following web-sites about my husband and i and about the latest development about our family.
1) http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/10/03/safrica.arms/index.html
2) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2756861.stm
Please contact me if you are willing to help but also tell me if you can handle this business without third party involvement as it must be handle with truth. All we need to do next is have a confirmation of your acceptable remuneration and business agreement that both party can sign together,
Best regard
Mrs.Lumka E.Yengeni
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Anti-fraud resources:
