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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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Ms. Heba Oudeh" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <hebaoudeh22@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2019 08:04:43 -0000
Subject: Help!!
Dear sir/Madam,
Greetings! I would like to apologize for barging into your privacy without your concent. My name is Heba Oudeh from Damascus Syria and i am 29 years old orphan.
I have decided to make this contact after many thoughts and hard decision. On 27 may 2017 i lost my parents to the Syrian war in one day and since then i have been in the refugee camp where am been raped every other day with no one to come to my aid. It is rather risky for me to send this mail and would be punished if caught but i have no choice than to take the risk and either die or be completely freed.
I have contacted you for help. I have come to realize that all my late father's investments were made here and have been destroyed as well except a little money he has in his foreign account in the U.S.A. Before i was taken to the camp i discovered he has deposited the sum of $1,875,000USD in an American bank with me as next-of-kin. I have contacted the bank to explain things to them and they have agreed to accept anybody i would present as the new next-of-kin so they will transfer they money to the person since i can not transfer the money to Syria.
The decision to make you the next-of-kin was not made because i need this money but because i want to leave this country to a better and safer place. All i need from you is to receive this money and make arrangement for me to join you in your country so i can complete my education and the remaining money can be invested in a business which both of us will be co-owners/partners and share profit equally. This might sound stupid but only option for me.
If you feel you will be able to help me on this, please let me know as soon as you can so i can contact the bank to know the steps to be taken and what is reqired from our side. I will give you a copy of my ID in my next mail.
Thanks,
Heba.
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Anti-fraud resources:
