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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "first national bank" (not involved with lotteries)
- 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.
- 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.
- imjones@webmail.co.za (Webmail, South Africa; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: <timojones@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: dealproject@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2017 19:57:42 +0900
Subject: TIM
I write to you in good faith and trust that you will take a moment to consi=
der this brief email. I'm a Senior Auditor of the First National Bank of So=
uth Africa (FNB). In the course of my Job I discovered a dormant bank accou=
nt which was opened in 1999 by a foreign Miner who died in a ghastly motor =
accident in 2001. Without much ado I humbly seek your permission to use you=
as the next of kin and beneficiary of the deceased estate. Should you wish=
to cooperate with me I will send you a detailed email of this transaction.=
I look forward to hearing from you. Regards, Tim Jones. PLS. RESPOND TO: t=
imjones@webmail.co.za TEL: +27 78 1738498=20
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Anti-fraud resources:
