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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:
- "transfer of your funds" (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 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: FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE <account@thlsh.com>
Reply-To: <saedsanni@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2015 20:19:06 -0700
Subject: THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR FUNDS PLEASE HURRY !!!
ATTN.
This is to let you know that the corrupt officials in Nigeria who you have been sending money to has been arrested so therefore the federal government of Nigeria has agreed to give you a compensation funds of $5 million dollars for all your loss and troubles as we sincerely apologize for all the pains caused by those impostors.Now you are only to pay $125 for the authorization of the release of your funds from the federal ministry of finance, so if you have agreed to pay then you can send the below details now for quick transfer of your funds in less than 24 hours.
1 Your Full Name
2 Phone Number
3 Occupation
4 Bank Name and Account Number.
Waiting,
Best Regards
Saed Sanni
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Anti-fraud resources:
