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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:
- "million dollars" (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)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned 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: Janet Amah <janetamah45@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 03:25:48 -0700
Subject: From Janet Amah Business Proposal
>From Janet Amah Business Proposal
Good day to you my Dear ,
Nice to meet with you my name is Janet Amah from Sierra Leone am 26 years old am now in Ivory Coast Abidjan i have lost my Father for a long time ago also i will like to do Business with you with my Father fund of 12.5 million dollars in your country so if you wish to help me out then do reply me back for me to give you more info regardable this oppurtunity
Kind Regards
Janet Amah
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Anti-fraud resources:
