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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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: "Nelson Mandela Charity Organization South Africa" <editor@sinopanel.com>
Reply-To: mandela.charity.org@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2017 14:46:00 +0000
Subject: You have been chosen as one of the people to receive Nelson Mandela Charity
Package
MRS. ROSEMARY VAN DE MERWE PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA CHARITY ORGANIZATION 37=
-96 MANDELA AVENUE SOWETO, GAUTENG 2001/ SOUTH AFRICA. Dear Sir/Madam Open =
the attached file. We have sent you this message as an attachment to preven=
t the loss of data. We at the NELSON MANDELA CHARITY ORGANIZATION wishes to=
inform you that you have been chosen as one of the people to receive a (US=
D 1,000,000.00) One Million United States Dollars from the Mandela=92s Char=
ity fund. The is a result of the WILL of former President and South African=
icon NELSON MANDELA personal decision to give out all millions of dollars =
in his charity organization to men and women all around the world whom are =
willing to assist their various communities in providing for the motherless=
and homeless children and most especially providing for the helpless peopl=
e in prison.
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Anti-fraud resources:
