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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:
- "u.k " (this email uses bad English)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "JW" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <adamwills960@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2018 14:36:08 -0800
Subject: GOODNEWS
Hello I am John Williams I work for the U.N and I was directed to contact you regarding your funds and inheritance which we discovered was deposited in a Bank somewhere in U.K because of your inability to show concerned regarding this funds and your past experiences too, I am here to guide you through the process of gaining this funds and have it deposited to your Bank account. The funds is about $18,500.000USD and it still in the Bank now. Due to high risk of carrying large amounts of cash to the U.S and other countries we decided to help you with an online banking and have the cash deposited for safe transfer but before I can release all accounts informations. I need you to send me a copy of your I.D or Drivers licence and your phone numbers for verification.
John Williams
United Nations Diplomat.
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Anti-fraud resources:
