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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Kofi Matthews" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <nathan.kofimatthews@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2016 22:28:58 -0500
Subject: <Confidential Investment Proposal>
Hello,
I am urgently in need of a foreign partner.I have funds in the tune of millions
of United States Dollars i am willing to invest in your country.
I got your contact through google search.Because of the high level of confidentiality
required to execute this deal i can only provide you with specific details if you are
serious and capable of handling funds in millions of USD.
This is a real and urgent deal not a scam or a bogus claim.I have every documentation
including telephone banking access to prove that the funds exist.
If interested simply click on reply on your page to respond to my personal private mail.
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Anti-fraud resources:
