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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)
- "power of attorney" (with your bank details and a power of attorney form criminals sometimes empty bank accounts)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- joangates1960@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Joan Gates" <info@data.com>
Reply-To: <joangates1960@aol.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2018 19:43:32 +1000
Subject: Re: Can I Trust You? If Yes Please Reply Immediately. QPIVLXYIJQ
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am dying of COLON CANCER with short notice of life as stated by my doctor. I have assignment for you to managethe sumof $800,000 USD and givea huge part of the fund to orphanages of your choice.I know you may ask why I'm not giving the money to relatives or my children, we never had any children though. My relatives misused the money I gave to them as they keep asking for more money which is against my wish and goal. Kindly send to me the following information so I can make a LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION FOR CLAIM which will also serve as a POWER OF ATTORNEY in your name. Please contact me now before it's too late by Email-To: joangates1960@aol.com
I will need the following information from you;
1. YOUR FULL NAMES:
2. YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS:
3. YOUR NATIONALITY:
4. COUNTRY WHERE YOU NOW LIVE:
5. YOUR AGE/DATE OF BIRTH:
6. MALE/FEMALE:
7. YOUR JOB/COMPANY:
8. YOUR MOBILE NUMBER:
9. YOUR REACHABLE EMAIL ADDRESS:
I will be waiting to hear from you. Remember that my time here on earth is very short lived.
Mrs. Joan R. Gates (Patient)
Email-To: joangates1960@aol.com
QDVXMCZWLMTOQXWFCISMBFSTKDXXVMZXYHNKDR
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Anti-fraud resources:
