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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: Jean Agbekoko <jeanagbekoko@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2017 22:14:48 +0100
Subject: My Greetings To You
My Greetings To You,
I am barrister Jean Agbekoko.I know this would come as a great surprise
to you but I urge you to evaluate this opportunity carefully and then
get back to me with an answer. I am contacting you to assist me with
repatriating funds $15.5million belonging to my late client, who
happens to share the same family name with you. The fund in question is
currently in a dormant account in the holding bank where it was
deposited. The reason I am contacting you is because you share the
same family name with the deceased. I am also aware that you might not
be directly related to him but having the same family name gives us an
advantage and opportunity. If you are interested, get back to me and I
will give you all other neccessary information regarding this on
condition of complete discretion on your part. Please get back to me
for more informations on my private email (jeanagbekoko@gmail.com.com)
Best Regards.
Jean Agbekoko
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Anti-fraud resources:
