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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "please indicate your interest" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- 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.
- globevision@insurer.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Calvin Stokes" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <globevision@insurer.com>
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2019 10.25.41 +0100
Subject: Compliments of the day !!
Dear Sir/Ma,
Compliments of the day. I am Dr. Calvin Stokes, a consultant and facilitator with the federal government agencies in Nigeria. One of the
Federal Government Agency here in Nigeria wants to
buy large quantities of Various Spices. These products are urgently needed and used to support Resilience for Sustainable Development and
Active Programs for the Lake Chad Basin Response and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in North-East Nigeria.
Please indicate your interest to participate in this Contract and send
catalogue of the products you have, for presentation to the Contract
Board. My interest in this Contract venture will be the commission
that you will add to your net price in my favor. Please reach me through our email: ( globevision@insurer.com ).
Best Regards
Calvin Stokes
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Anti-fraud resources:
