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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:
- "million us 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 next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "Dr. Robert Nelson" <info@marialorenzalongo.it>
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2018 10:49:29 +0100
Subject:
Hello,
I am Robert Nelson; I work with the audit department of a bank here in China. I need your partnership in a funds transfer process involving an unclaimed deposit worth sixteen Million US Dollars ($16,000,000.00).
All efforts to trace any living relative of the deceased customer did not yield any positive result. I can use my office to present you as next of kin to the deceased and have the funds transferred for our mutual benefit. There are no risks whatsoever attached. I will personally oversee the process of the transfer of funds from the bank to your account.
If you are interested in this transaction, kindly get back to me with the details below:
YOUR NAME:
YOUR ADDRESS:
YOUR MOBILE NUMBER:
AGE:
SEX:
YOUR OCCUPATION/POSITION:
I hope to read from you soon.
Best Regards,
Dr. Robert Nelson
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Anti-fraud resources:
