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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:
- "any lucrative business in your country" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million us dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Nadia Kone <nakone12@iprimus.com.au>
Reply-To: nadiakone30@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2019 00:15:51 +0000
Subject: MY HUMBLE GREETINGS
Good day my beloved,
I'm Miss. Nadia Kone 19 years old, the daughter of late Mr. Kessie Kone.
Please i have a fund of $2.8 million US dollars deposited by my late
father in the bank, i need your assistant to transfer it to your
country. My uncle and my relatives is a total threat to my life to take
this fund from me because my parents are late. Please my beloved, I need
your help as my mentor or business partner to stand and receive this
fund for me in your country and guide me to invest the fund in any
lucrative business in your country and continue my education as well
over there.
I'm look forward to hear from you soon, because this message is urgent
so that I can give you more information about me and the fund
immediately I get your good answer from you.
God bless you
Your beloved
Miss Nadia Kone
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Anti-fraud resources:
