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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:
- "top secret" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "there is no risk involved" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Gokhan Kumdereli" <kuraishi@ndsoft.co.jp>
Reply-To: mrgokhankumdereli@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2018 08:54:43 -0800
Subject: Dear Sir,
Dear Sir,
Inshallah my name is Mr. Gokhan Kumdereli, I am citizen of TURKEY but presently residing in Canberra city of Australia on asylum. I was the personal assistant to the former air force chief of Turkey Mr. Akin Ozturk who was among the top military officers recently arrested after a failed coup attempt against the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey., therefore i have managed to escape from Turkey to seek asylum in Australia after some military officers were rounded up by the Turkish government forces due to failed coup attempt.
Now my boss (the former air force chief of Turkey Mr. Akin Ozturk) has directed me to search for a trustworthy investment partner who will assist me to claim his money totaling a sum of US$5 Million which he deposited few years ago with a Bank in London for onward investment. I contacted you today for this wonderful business opportunity because the government of Australia has refused to grant me asylum and i will be traveling to meet you in your country immediately after concluding this transaction successfully through your help.
I am also assuring you that there is NO risk involved in this transaction because the Bank in London will use one of their accredited lawyers to perfect every documentation process on your name so that this transaction will be carried out under a legitimate arrangement. I will be providing you with more details of this transaction including my telephone numbers and my ID photos as soon as i hear from you again. Please you must keep every aspect of this transaction as top secret even if you are not interested. Thank you for your understanding and may ALLAH bless you!
Best Regards,
Mr. Gokhan Kumdereli.
Australia Refugee Camp.
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Anti-fraud resources:
