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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:
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "my names are " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs Ishtar Adad" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <Ishtaradad@gmx.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2014 13:37:03 +0200
Subject: Confidential
Good Day,
I want you to know that I am currently in search of assistance in transferring my family and investment to your country and that is why I contacted you. My names are Ishtar Adad, I am a national of Arab Republic of Syria.
I have been based and operating my business in Syria until the political situation that has brought about the shutdown of economic activities in Syria as a result of the on going civil war.I have decided together with my family to invest our funds into a profitable venture in your country to secure it.
If you are willing to assist me, I will give you complete information on what to do and how to access the investment funds which has already been securely moved out of Syria to safety and invest it in accordance with the foreign direct investment regulations ofyour country.
The whole business arrangement will be conducted in a manner that that is consistent with the prevailing international laws and your local legislation guiding such influx of capital investment.
If you are interested, I will make arrangements for you to receive the money in your country for the investment and the amount in question is US 6,700,000.00 . I will give you 30% of the total for your assistance.
I will wait to hear from you.
Yours faithfully.
Ishtar Adad
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Anti-fraud resources:
