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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:
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mr Robert Kiki <chantal.dunoir@gmail.com>
Reply-To: robertkiki87@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 21:56:04 +0200
Subject: Dear Good Friend
Dear Good Friend,
It interests me to contact you after my investigations on your capability and
Sincerity.
I am Auditor General in a Bank here in Republic Du Benin On my routine
inspection I discovered a dormant account with the deposit of
(4.6Million Euro}
by late Mr Stefan Phillipp without any heir.
I seek your assistance in transfering this fund to your country account
through legal.
If you are interested, please let me have your TELEPHONE NUMBER and FULL NAMES
to enable me give you comprehensive details and procedure on how you will
receive the fund for our own benefits. I look forward for your quick response.
Regards,
Mr Robert Kiki
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Anti-fraud resources:
