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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:
- "here in united kingdom" (this email uses bad English)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- johannsenfinn01@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Johannsen Finn <k.zakaria@polaris.com.et>
Reply-To: Johannsen Finn <johannsenfinn01@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2016 09:52:09 +0300 (EAT)
Subject: am Johannsen Finn
¡°RELATIONSHIP ESTABLISHMENT & DEAL NOTIFICATION¡±
I am aware that this is certainly an unconventional approach to starting a relationship. I am Johannsen Finn, Financial Expert working with Banks here in United Kingdom as Financial Consultant Auditor but I am retired now. I will be happy if we can do business together in good faith and this proposal will be of mutual benefit for us. I saw your profile and I want to invest in your country. You can contact me for more details if you are interested to work with me.
Finally and most importantly, you should keep our conversation highly confidential to avoid any betrayal from your side. Tell me more about yourself and about your country's lucrative areas of investment. You will have 40% of any amount involved.
I urgently hope to get your response as soon as possible.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr.Johannsen Finn.
E-mail: johannsenfinn01@gmail.com
Hill House 1 Little New Street London
EC4A 3TR, United Kingdom
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Anti-fraud resources:
