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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Melinda Cruz <melindacruz243@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <melinda46111@voila.fr>
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 17:26:57 +0000
Subject: INVESTMENT PROPOSAL
HELLO DEAR,
I KNOW YOU WILL SURPRISE TO RECEIVE THIS EMAIL. I AM IN A DESPERATE NEED FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE.
WELL MY NAME IS MRS MELINDA CARLOS DE LA CRUZ, THE WIFE TO MAYOR CARLOS DE LA CRUZ. MY HUSBAND WAS A POLITICIAN AND ALSO THE SAMAR TOWNSHIP MAYOR WHO WAS KILLED IN OUR HOUSE AT PHILIPPINE BY THREE GUNMEN ON THE 17TH JULY 2009. DURING THE THREAT OF MY HUSBAND'S LIFE, HE DEPOSITED THE SUM OF $3.900.000.00 FOR THE UPKEEPING AND FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN WITH A BANK IN AFRICA.
SINCE THE DEATH OF MY LATE HUSBAND, THE PHILIPPINE GOVT HAVE REFUSED ME AND MY CHILDREN FROM LEAVING THE COUNTRY COUPLE WITH DIFFICULTY THAT I AM EXPERIENCING WITH HIS BROTHERS WHO HAVE SEIZED EVERYTHING THAT MY LATE HUSBAND AND I WORKED FOR. I WILL NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THE TRANSFER AND THE INVESTMENT OF THE MONEY IN YOUR COUNTRY AND FOR THE PROPER INVESTMENT IF YOU DO NOT MIND.
ALL I NEED FROM YOU IS HONESTY IN HANDLING THIS TRANSACTION.
I WILL HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON.
MRS. MELINDA CRUZ.
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Anti-fraud resources:
