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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "security keeping fee" (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. )
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "james.cahill2011@onet.eu" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "JAMES CAHILL" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <james.cahill2011@onet.eu>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2015 03:59:13 +0330
Subject: Contact Patrick For Your Delivery
Dear Friend ,
Since i waited so long without hearing from you regarding your confirm able draft worth of 1.5 Million USD,I went ahead and cashed the money and registered it with Trans world courier service as box of African clothes with instruction to deliver it to you upon your contact to their office,I am leaving today to another country for three months course.You can contact them now to avoid them delaying with the box. Bear in mind that i have paid all the charges they requested,Both mailing charges and insurance. All you need to do is to pay their security keeping fee of Seventy five dollars,I would have paid it before leaving but they insisted that it will be paid by you since they don't know when you will be contacting them.
Below is their contact details remember that I registered it as African clothes do not allow them know that the content is money if not they may delay you more and charge you more know that the only money you are supposed to pay them is the keeping fee of Seventy five dollars USD $75USD.
Contact Person : Patrick Smith
Email Address :patrick.smith@op.pl
Remember to reconfirm your postal address to them and you can update me as soon as you receive the draft via email:james.cahill2011@onet.eu
Regards,
James Cahil
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Anti-fraud resources:
