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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:
- "the consignment" (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)
- "consignment " (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)
- "million us 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.
Fraud email example:
From: David Paul <donationoffer@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: David Paul <davidpaul2007@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2015 19:14:53 +0900 (JST)
Subject: My name is paul amd my sister is Rina,
Hii
My name is paul amd my
sister is Rina, We are from Ivory Coast in West Africa.We decided to
stay at the orphanage home as a result of the civil war that was fought
in my country some years ago due to the attitude of our wicked uncles
who want us dead so they can inherit our cocoa plantation/other
properties which we have inheritted from our late parents.
We
lost our parents during this deadly political war that damaged thousands
of innocent souls in Ivory Coast . My family was among the first target
of the rebels because my late father was a successful businessman (a
cocoa merchant) and also a politician supporting the present government
when the problems was about to start .
Due to this all the
members of my family was murdered in a cold blood and our family house
was set blazed . We was lucky and escaped death because i and my sister
was in the church when this deadly incident took place . We have
encountered pain and suffering ever since the incident that cost us our
dear parents but i know that someday we will wear a smile on my face
again .
My late father deposited with a security firm abraod the
sum of 7.2 Million US Dollars which he used my name as the next of kin
,as soon as I hear from you we shall arrange for the security firm
abroad to release the consignment fund to you as our guardian. Please
kindly take us as your children and help us sincere invest the money
properly while you still get your reward,I pray to God to guide and
protect you in all you are doing . We want you to send us money
immediately after you receive the consignment fund to enable us get our
travelling documents to join you in your country.I will send you further
details as soon as I receive your response.
Thank you and have a wonderful day.
Yours faithfully,
paul and Rina.
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