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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:
- "affidavit of claim" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "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)
- "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "mariamibrahim2011@qq.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a "dying widow" scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs Mariam James Ibrahim" <email@service.netease.com>
Reply-To: mariamibrahim2011@qq.com
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2015 19:15:22 -0300
Subject: Hello
Hello Dear,
I great you in the name of the almighty God, And I hope this
mail will meet you in good health. It may surprise you to receive
this proposal from me since you do not know me personally but I got
your contact
email online.I am sincerely seeking your help.My name is Mrs.Mariam
James Ibrahim a national of Maltese Island. I am currently living
in the outskirt of Frankfurt city in Germany . I was married to
Mr.James Ibrahim who was a yellow Maize merchant and we lived
together here before his death 3 years ago.
We were married for ten years without a child.He died after a brief
illness that lasted for four days. Since his death i decided not to
remarry.When my husband was alive he deposited the sum of $10million
[Ten million US dollars] with a financial institution in Europe.
The money is still in a holding account and it require the
processing of an affidavit of claim to activate the release before
the remittance to the nominated account of my appointed receiver
& trustee.
I have been bedridden with stroke which has affected the key
organs of my body and I would like to relocate to China
for urgent medical care as soon as possible if I can get your
support to move the deposited fund from the financial
institution in Europe to your account as my appointed
beneficiary.
I can only communicate with you via email now because of the present
state of my health, I cannot call you because of my failing
health.I want you to help me in securing this fund as my
appointed beneficiary I don t want to get people too close to
me involved who will later messed up the process .You have my
permission to retain 40% of the fund and keep 60% to enable
me travel to China for traditional Chinese acupuncture medical
treatment which has been recommended to me as one of the best
place for the treatment of stroke and paralysis.
I will send you more details as soon as I receive your
acceptance of this offer .Send your reply and present location
to: mariamibrahim2011@qq.com
Best regards,
Mrs Mariam James Ibrahim
Theodor-Heuss-Allee18,6048615 Frankfurt am Main,Germany
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