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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:
- "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- "dwalker196110@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. David Walker" <dbwr3@swissmail.ch>
Reply-To: dwalker196110@outlook.com
Date: Fri, 05 Aug 2016 13:35:21 +0200
Subject: Attention to this Mutual Proposal
Hello
I work as an auditor for a suisse bank. I was a part of the delegation of the bank that carried out the investigation of finding bank accounts in Switzerland belonging to non-Swiss indigenes, which have remained dormant since World War II. Most belonged to Holocaust victims, recent findings have since resulted in the discovery of additional dormant accounts -2700 in July, 2010. A dormant account with a deposit valued at $21 million dollars plus accumulated interest was discovered by me. my proposal is to bring you forward as the beneficiary of the funds as you share same details with the deceased and ultimately transfer the money to any account nominated by you. This will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law, contact me on my private email: dwalker196110@outlook.com for the finer details.
Best Regards,
Mr. David Walker
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Anti-fraud resources:
