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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:
- "i want to solicit your attention" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- 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.
- xiua_chan@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: hesparragoza@misionsucre.gob.ve
Reply-To: xiua_chan@aol.com
Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2015 13:50:54 +0200
Subject: GREETINGS !
GREETINGS ! I AM SORRY TO ENCROACH INTO YOUR PRIVACY IN THIS MANNER.I FOUND=
YOUR PROFILE LISTED IN THE GOOGLE DATABASE AND I FOUND IT PLEASURABLE TO O=
FFER YOU MY PARTNERSHIP IN BUSINESS.I ONLY PRAY THAT AT THIS TIME YOUR E-MA=
IL ADDRESS IS STILL VALID. I WANT TO SOLICIT YOUR ATTENTION TO RECEIVE MONE=
Y ON MY BEHALF.I AM MRS. XIUA CHAN YU,A STAFF OF WING HANG BANK HERE IN HON=
G KONG, I NEED A FOREIGN PARTNER THAT I CAN TRUST IN THIS MATTER. I REALLY =
NEED YOUR HELP IN TRANSFERRING FUNDS THAT BELONG TO MY LATE CLIENT HERE IN =
MY BANK FOR YEARS, TILL NOW NO BODY HAS COME FOR IT AS NEXT OF KIN/INHERITA=
NCE. I HOPE YOU CAN BE TRUSTED? AND CAN YOU HANDLE THIS FOR ME? YOU WILL BE=
REWARD HANDSOMELY IF YOU COULD HELP ME SECURE THE FUNDS. IF YOU CAN BE TRU=
STED, I WILL EXPLAIN FURTHER DETAILS WHEN I GET A RESPONSE FROM YOU.PLEASE =
ENSURE TO RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL. REGARD XIUA CHAN YU XIUA_CHAN@AOL.COM
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Anti-fraud resources:
