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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)
- "hundred thousand united states 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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs Aisha Ahmed Azizi" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ad.b.togo01@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2017 22:34:10 +0800
Subject: LET US INVEST TOGETHER
Dear Friend
This is the only means to contact you confidentially for this Twenty Five Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars business transaction.
A wealthy businessman from your country deposited this money in EFT Bank here in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and he died of heart attack. The woman that left him when he was diagnosed of cancer is also dead and he doesn't have any child.
I contacted you because, he was from your country and you have the same last/surname with him and you fit in perfectly as the next of kin if i present you to the bank.
This transaction is legitimate and i will give you the user name and password of the bank account so that you can log in to see the money and you can also transfer the money from your country through your computer
We are going to share this money 50% for you and 50% for me. Kindly reply me with your telephone number for more details
Regards
Mrs. Aisha Ahmed Azizi.
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Anti-fraud resources:
