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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
- 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.
- njan0009@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Nolan Jan" <kids@gracelutheranhi.org>
Reply-To: njan0009@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2017 10:19:10 -0400
Subject: Urgent Attention Needed
My Dear Friend
An earlier e-mail was sent to you without a reply.
I am Mr.Nolan Jan an accountant to Mr.Robert a native of your country who
died in diamond mine ground collapse.
My client was an expatriate/engineer with Mining industry.
I am happy to inform you that after several attempts to locate my Client
relatives/family members, I found you bearing the same family name with my
client.
I will like us to discuss about my client finances and estate worth
$4.650,000 USD with us.
My client account is presently dormant and his funds will be recovered
by the government because he died intestate and since then nobody has
ever come for the funds. I need your services to receive these funds
under legal arrangements as I have all the details intact to ensure a
risk free transfer.
I am seeking your consent to present you as the next of kin of my client
so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you for the safety and
subsequent disbursement since the funds were left behind without any
written will or next of kin details. If you are willing to assist, your
telephone number is necessary for further discussions.
Contact me in my private email (njan0009@gmail.com) for more details
Yours Faithfully,
Mr.Nolan Jan
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Anti-fraud resources:
