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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "huge deposit" (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 next of kin scam.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- chowchang@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Chow Chang <cchang52@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2014 19:18:18 +0200
Subject: greetings
Hello,
I am Mr. Chow Chang the Executive Director of Hang Seng Bank,Hong Kong. Our client Major Fadi Basem died with his entire family during the US war in Iraq. Before his death, He made a huge deposit (Some millions of US dollars) with my Bank here in Hong Kong. I have made all effort to contact any of his surviving family member but has been futile.I write you seeking your partnership to stand as the next of kin to him to enable us claim the funds and have it shared. Write back to my private email: chowchang@hotmail.com with your contact details if interested for more details
My Esteemed Regards,
Mr. Chow Chang
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Anti-fraud resources:
