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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:
- "million 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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- "james.mccarthy13@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: James McCarthyh <james.mccarthy@outlook.com>
Reply-To: james.mccarthy13@outlook.com
Date: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 17:07:43 +0200
Subject: Re: Payment Notice
Good Day,
My name is James D. McCarthyh from MaryLand USA. I am a sick and dying man. The test results conducted by my Doctors indicated that i have just few weeks left to live after been diagnosed of Lungs Cancer. However, luckily for me, i won a lottery just few weeks back and with no family to pass these funds to. I am in search of a good hearted, God fearing and law abiding citizen i can pass these funds to. I am confided to my sick bed and really can't do much from here. 50% of the total funds i will send to who so ever gets in touch with me with genuine reason why i should send $2,000,000 (Two million Dollars) in cash. Please state your reason and purpose in your response and send back to me. Also include your full name and contact phone number.
(To prove this is not a hoax my social security number is attached to this email for verification of my identity (155403468). Please reply to my below email address.
Thanks
JAMES D. MCCARTHYH
Email: james.mccarthy13@outlook.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
