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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
- pennyslec@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Penny Slechta <hostmaster@casanet.net.ma>
Reply-To: <linusvogelstein@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2019 20:38:56 +0100
Subject: Hello
Hello,
I must say I am really sorry for assuming you received my message and opted not to respond; I sent out an initial email to you hoping that you are willing to be recipient/owner by nomination to €8.196 million. I urgently need to present a kin/beneficiary to become the recipient to the above fund.
The client died without a written WILL or CODICIL. Having no identifiable heir to this estate, hence we are not doing anything out of the ordinary. As it is a win-win situation for you as there might be a slim chance that you’re in some way related to the client, but even if you aren’t we have a far better chance with the funds secured at your end to find the recipient or kin to the late client. Ordinarily all unclaimed funds are turned over to the state or shared as bonus surplus by the bank directors after a waiting period; these are funds that can be channeled to achieve some level of good work. I intend to move forward with this; because I see the greater good and possibility of truly fulfilling someone’s wishes. This is an opportunity before me and I have opted to work on it. But what I need to know is if I am working on this with you. Should you opt not to proceed forward on this with me, kindly delete the email and stop any and all communication. However; if you wish to achieve some sort of feat by he
* Full names and mailings address
* Telephone and fax number
* Nationality
Thanks for your anticipated co-operation as I Look forward to reading from you.
Regards,
Penny Slechta
pennyslec@gmail.com
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https://www.avg.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
