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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (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: Jerry Osei <jerry_osei123@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 04:35:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: PLEASE GET BACK TO ME IS URGENT
Dear Friend.
I am Jerry Osei, Regional Manager of financial Company, I have emailed you earlier without a response. In my first email I mentioned about our late client whose relatives I cannot get in touch with. But both of you have the same last name so it will be very easy to make you become his official next of kin. I am compelled to do this because I would not want my Head Bank to push our clients funds ( $12.5 Million U.S Dollars ) into the bank treasury as unclaimed inheritance. If you are interested kindly let me know so that I can give you a Comprehensive details on what we are to do.
Yours Sincerely,
Jerry Osei .
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Anti-fraud resources:
