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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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: <Stewartdavid11@Office412.onmicrosoft.com>
Reply-To: <stewartdavid@live.com>
Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:38:28 +0530
Subject: KINDLY READ CAREFULLY.
Good day, I am officially writing to inform you about the release of your o=
utstanding compensation fund which is truly $2.5 million dollars. A meeting=
was held last weekend as to the problem surrounding the Remittance of your=
fund, and after all deliberation, the Panel Agreement was to release your =
fund through ATM MasterCard. Mean while i have registered your ATM card wit=
h the FedEx Express Courier and the only money you will pay the FedEx Expre=
ss Courier is $98usd for there shipping fee. Kindly re-confirm your details=
and make sure your residential address is provided correctly, to avoid any=
atom of mistake during delivery process of your ATM MasterCard. 1.Name:.. =
2.Address:.. 3.Tel phone Number:.. 4.Country:.. 5.Occupation:.. 6.Age:.. (F=
OR ANY QUESTION REGARDING THIS ATM MASTER CARD DON'T HESITATE TO EMAIL ME).=
Regards, Stewart David. (UN)
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Anti-fraud resources:
