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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:
- "ph.maxwel@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: Phillip <highlander@euronet.nl>
Reply-To: Phillip <ph.maxwel@outlook.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2017 03:50:56 +0100 (CET)
Subject: Good Day
Good Day my Friend
You will be surprised to read from me since we have never met or had any formal contact in the past. I am Mr. Phillip Maxwell, General Manager of a top Security Company here in South Africa. I am contacting you regarding some Multi-Million Dollar cash deposited here in our Security Company by a deceased client, a Billionaire and a former Head of State.
You can read the below link for confirmation:
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2013/06/02/gaddafi-billions-found-in-sa1?ref=yfp
I will respectfully request that you keep the content of this email highly confidential and respect the integrity of the information on this email.
This is a lifetime opportunity for us, do not betray my confidence. Please get back to me if you are interested, you can contact me on my private email below and also feel free to call me anytime.
I await your soonest response.
Best Regards,
Mr Phillip Maxwell
Tel: +27737723565
Fax: +27866046615
Email: ph.maxwel@outlook.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
