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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:
- "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: " Aime Kilolo-Musamba" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <aimekilolo@pisem.net>
Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2016 22:44:17 -0800
Subject: INVESTMENT INQUIRY LETTER?
Attn:
Before I start, I must first apologize for this unsolicited mail. I am
aware that this is certainly an unconventional approach in starting a
business relationship but as time goes on you will realize what
necessitated my action.
I am Barr. Aime Kilolo-Musamba from Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC). I am a legal attorney/representative to the former Congolese
vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo,Former Leader of the Movement
for the Liberation of Congo (MLC); who is now facing the ICC war
crimes charges;
This you can confirm from the links
following:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6085536.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8101809.stm
Play the youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mFaXWjAxpE
After much deliberation with his family I was advice to look for a
foreign partner who will be willing to help the family to invest the
fund but strictly on confidential ground.
It is on this ground I am contacting you. I wish to Solicitate your
partnership with the family on investment of this fund in your
country.
Waiting to read from you soonest.
God blessed.
Yours truly,
Barr. Aime Kilolo Musam
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Anti-fraud resources:
