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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:
- "a security company " (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. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Hon. Mohammad Bello." <N2@hjhjhjhjhjh.onmicrosoft.com>
Reply-To: <ibn.mohammed@yandex.com>
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2016 01:38:17 -0700
Subject: SOLICITING FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP
Good day.
I have a very important business proposal to unfold to you hence I am contacting you.I
am Hon. Mohammad Bello, the former chairman of 2011 Election Committee in Nigeria as a
member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling party in Nigeria. After the
election we discovered that the sum of US$25Million was left over. This money is
presently in a Security Company for safe keeping. I hereby solicit for your partnership
in claiming this money from the security company for the purpose of investment in your
country for our mutual benefit Please contact me at the earliest possible time for
further details.
Waiting to hear from you.
Best regards,
Hon. Mohammad Bello.
SOLICITING FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP
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Anti-fraud resources:
