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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:
- "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a "dying widow" scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Leelamma Raju <chestdamee@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: Leelamma Raju <rmrsleelamma@yahoo.fr>
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 20:41:22 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Apostolic Greetings !!!
Apostolic Greetings !!!
My
name is Mrs Leelamma Raju a widow to Mr. rash Raju who was a competent
business man here in Abidjan Cote d'ivoire , we were married for many
years without any child till his death in October 2005 after a brief
illness. Due to the promise which i revered to him on the alter at the
day of our church wedding i decided not to remarry or get a child
outside my matrimonial home which is against the holy bible.
He
made this deposit of $( 2.7 Million )USD Two million Seven hundred
thousand in a bank here in Abidjan . Recently, my Doctor told me that i
would not last for the next 5 months due to cancer & stroke illness.
He
took this decision with me to use this fund in building an orphanage in
his name that will accommodate thousand's of children, and also to use
part of this fund in helping the less fortunate and to spread the gospel
of the lord to the remote places of the world.
Having known my
condition i decided to seek for a competent and reliable God fearing
person or orgnisation to entrust this fund to utilize this fund the way i
narrated above as my late husband desired.
As soon as i receive
your reply i shall give you the relevant documents that will legalize
you to have access over this fund. I will also issue you an affidavit
that will proove you the present beneficiary of this fund in the bank. I
want you and the church to always pray for me because the lord is my
shepherd.
Please always be prayerful all through your life and
pray to God to forgive me my sins. Any delay in your reply will give me
room in sourcing for another alternative or a God fearing person for
this same purpose. Assure me that you will act accordingly as i stated
herein. Hoping to receive your reply.
Your's Sister In Christ,
Mrs Leelamma Raju
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