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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- 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.
- gunn.waersted234@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Ms Gunn Waersted" <marli@hjv.com.br>
Reply-To: waersted.gunn@yandex.com
Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2019 21:08:23 -0700
Subject: Re:
Dear Sir/Madam,
This email must come to you as a surprise, but I believe that it takes just a day for people to meet and become great friends and business partners. This is a personal and private letter directed to you and I request that it be treated as such.
Please you need firstly signify your interest by contacting me via e-mail, and then I will appraise you with complete details as soon as I obtain your confidence. Rest assured that this proposal is hitch-free and you need not entertain any fears as all procedures will be within the confines of the law. Also note that successful transfer of the Fund to your nominated account can be achieved within 14 Banking days of signifying your interest. Like I said, I require only a solemn confidentiality on this.
Warmest Regards
Ms Gunn Waersted
Email: gunn.waersted234@gmail.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
