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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:
- "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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
- mrszainabtawfiq@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs Zainab Tawfiq" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrszainabtawfiq@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 01:27:36 +0100
Subject: GRACE BE TO YOU
I am Mrs Zainab Tawfiq, I am 66 years old, and I am suffering from a long time cancer of the breast. Please, I'm not internet savvy and I don't know if it is quite safe to share this information with you on this portal without anyone else knowing about it. For this reason, I'll not disclose all for now.
I was a house wife and now I am sick and in the Hospital due to cancer. The doctors said I have a few months to live. My late husband did will Forty Five Million Dollars of American money to me in a bank in Europe. I would love for this money to be transferred to you by my attorney so you can use it for charity in your country.
If you are interested and need further clarifications, kindly reply me with your name, address and telephone number and I shall send you my attorney details to assist you in getting the funds. It is unfortunate that women do not have rights in this part of the world (Arab World).
Please send your reply to my private email:mrszainabtawfiq@aol.com
Best regards.
Mrs Zainab Tawfiq.
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Anti-fraud resources:
