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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "the consignment" (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)
- "consignment " (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)
- "the diplomat " ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "a diplomat " ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. James W. Abbas" <ericaspedding@gmail.com>
Reply-To: jameswabbas100@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2019 04:57:49 -0800
Subject: Urgent Assistance
--
Hello dear Friend,
I am James Williams Abbas and i am writing you regarding to my
consignment boxes which is presently with a Diplomat in California and
the consignment boxes worth millions of US dollars and and the
diplomat is presently in United States making delivery there and the
diplomat also told me to look for who will help me on my behalf to
stand as my beneficiary who is ready to receive the funds and i am
ready to offer you 40% of the total funds, if you indicate your
interest in helping me received the funds from the diplomat and if you
are interested to stand a my next of kin, kindly get back to me
immediately with your full name and cell phone number and ID card and
also your delivery address now.
Regards,
Mr. James W. Abbas
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Anti-fraud resources:
