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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:
- "% commission" (Beware of any scheme that involves depositing checks or money orders or receiving wire transfers in your bank account and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere, for a percentage of 5-15% of the total. Such offers are *always* fraudulent and you will be liable for the entire amount when the checks, money orders or wire transfers turn out to be fraudulent. Any money already forwarded comes out of *your* pocket then. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Alfarsi Investment Group" <alfarsiinvestmentgroupaue@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2015 14:56:44 +0200 (EET)
Subject: With Due Respect
I am a white Zimbabwean farmer, currently in hiding. I have funds US$18.5M to invest,
I am contacting you as the need for me to have a foreign partner has become necessary
due to my plans to relocate and start farming all over again. If you are interested
and willing to assist me for 20% commission, please contact me for more details.
You can click on the links below to get a better understanding of my situation and
why I need your assistance: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1068528.stm
John.
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Anti-fraud resources:
