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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:
- "with absolute secrecy" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Saleha Abdul <abdulsaleha01@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Salehabdulcols@yandex.com
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2016 04:45:07 -0700
Subject: We will appreciate your idea
Dear Sir
I apologize if the content of this letter are contrary to your moral ethics
but please treat with absolute secrecy and personal. My name is Col Abdul
Saleh from Damascus Syria.I read with interest through your profile hence I
contact you. I am 49yrs old and a serving military soldier here in
Damascus, Syria.
In the course of one of our operations sometime ago,I and my operational
commander recovered the sum of $7.5m suspected to belonging to Syria Shell
Petroleum Development(SSDP). We agreed to invest on Landed Properties .
We need a trusted foreign partner to receive the fund and help us invest.
We do not operate any foreign bank account outside Syria hence we solicit
your sincere assistance.We will appreciate your idea and knowledge
regarding this or any other profitable investment you may suggest.
On my next email I will explain to you the full details of this investment
proposal. You may as well tell me little more about yourself and feel free
to ask any question for clarification. Contact me urgently for your good
response through my email address.
Sincerely Yours
Col Abdul Saleh
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Anti-fraud resources:
