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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:
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a "dying widow" scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "From.Hellen" <icebahn710@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: "From.Hellen" <madamhellen2001@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2015 08:30:39 +0900 (JST)
Subject: praise the lord for his goodness
I writing this mail from sick bed,,
My Name is Mrs. Hellen Coleman I am married to Late Dr. Willam Coleman who worked with Kuwait embassy here in Abidjan Cote D'Ivoire for nine years before he died in the year 2009: My late husband deposited the sum of $2 Million ( TWO Million U.S. Dollars)in one of the Security Company here in Abidjan in a suspence account. Recently, my Doctor told me that i have serious sickness which is cancer problem. The one that disturbs me most is my stroke sickness.
. I need your assistance to use this fund to care for the less-privileged, charity and work of God in your country. Contact me for more details.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
Yours in Christ,
Mrs Hellen.
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Anti-fraud resources:
