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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:
- "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "million 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.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- a_bbas54@yahoo.com (Yahoo; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: johnnsono@bulletmail.org
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2017 23:19:12 +0000
Subject: Urgent Reply:
Dear Sir,
My name is Mr Jimmy Austinino, Senior Personal Assistant to former
Nigerian Petroleum Minister Mrs Diezani Alison Madueke before we lost
the election to APC (Opposition Party) in April 2015.
The current Government headed by President Mohammed Buhari have been
fighting the past Government officers. As I write this letter to you, my
boss Mrs Alison Madueke and other former government officers that worked
under the past Government including myself are under restriction all our
traveling documents has been seized.
The new Government has been frozen Mrs Diezani Madueke’s bank accounts
and confiscates most of her assets. It is at this juncture that she
directed me to look for a trustworthy foreigner who can help her secure
her money that is deposited in a Security Company in Malaysia. The
amount involved is USD300M (Three Hundred Million United States Dollars
only).
She will give you 20% of the money and 5% is set aside to settle any
expenses that might incur during the transaction. As soon as you
indicate your interest, she will send to you all the necessary documents
you will use to claim the fund as the beneficiary because she is
indispose to do anything from where she is right now.
Reply through this email: a_bbas54@yahoo.com
Best Regards,
Mr. Jimmy Austinino
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