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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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: "Mrs Aziza H Mohammed" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrsazizahmohammed@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2016 15:43:34 -0700
Subject: GREETINGS TO YOU.
Dear friend,
My name is Mrs Aziza H Mohammed, i am from Libya but i am in Ghana and my husband is one of the late Gaddafi Army. It was my husband who took Gaddafi family to Niger and Algeria when they ran from Libya. But my husband died when he returned to Libya, their army convoy was hit by NATO bomb.
But he told me something very important when he was alive. He deposited some money in a security company as a family inheritance in case anything should happen to Him. And he gave me the documents to save them for security reason, the money is Eight Million six hundred
Thousand, and 67 kilos of gold.
why I write you is because I need someone who can
stand on my behalf to claim ownership of the fund and the Gold. I have
a certificate of deposit covering the deposited items.
Regard,
Mrs Aziza H Mohammed.
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Anti-fraud resources:
