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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)
- "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)
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- 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: "Mr.Abdul Waziri" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <abdul_waziri01@ymail.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2017 07:30:48 -0800
Subject: Your urgent assistance please.
Dear Friend,
Your urgent assistance please.
I am Mr.Abdul Waziri, from Parakou Benin Republic. I am the interim Bank Manager with (RURAL DEVELOPMENT BANK-R.D.B) under political appointment by our past President and My retirement is approaching in the next two months. Please there is an opportunity for me now to move this sum of (US$ 25.3 Million Dollars) to a foreign account for my future investment before i step down end of MARCH 2017. Please would you be interested to assist me with any account to received this amount?.
Take note: We will share this fund 35%for you and 65% for me . I look forward to receive your return mail for more details about this fund and how to execute the transfer to your account within 7 to 9 days.
With my position i assure you that this transaction is 100% risk free. Send me your information as follows.
1. Name in full:.................
2. Address:................/ City.....
3. Nationality:..................
4. Age:.........../ Sex..........
5. Occupation:...................
6. Your cell N0:.............for easy communication
Thanks and have a great day.
Mr.Abdul Waziri
Interim Bank Manager.
+229 68 811 395.
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This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
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Anti-fraud resources:
