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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:
- "dearest one," (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mariam Zidan" <mariamzidan00@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2017 05:07:05 -0700
Subject: Dearest One
Dearest One,
It is my pressure to contact you. My name is Miss Mariam Zidan, i am only child of my late parents. I prayed before contacting you.I found your email address from the human resources data base and decided to contact you .I need your help so that i will get my fund US$6.4million which i inherited from my late father in the bank here. In my next mail i will detail you more about me and my inheritance.
Thanks.
Miss Mariam Zidan.
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Anti-fraud resources:
