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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:
- "hundred thousand united states 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)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a orphan scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Miss Maris Avis <marie.avis11@gmail.com>
Reply-To: marie_avis12@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2020 12:30:14 +0000
Subject: Hello
My Dear,
My name is Miss Marie Avis the only daughter of Mr. Gabriel Avis, my
Father was dealing in Cocoa and Timber in this country before his
death, It is my pleasure to contact you for a business venture which
I intend to establish in your country. Though I have not met with you
before but I believe one has to risk confiding before you can succeed
sometimes in life.
I can confide in you for my brighter future since you are a human
being like me. There is this huge amount of Ten Million five hundred
thousand United States dollars. ($10.500.000.00) which my late Father
kept for me in a suspense account with one of the bank here in Abidjan
Cote d'Ivoire before he was assassinated by unknown persons, Now I
have decided to invest these money in your country or anywhere safe
enough for me.
I want you to help me claim this fund from the bank and have it
transfer into your personal account in your country for investment
purposes in your country in these areas:
1). Telecommunication
2). The transport Industry
3). Five Star Hotel
4). Tourism
5). Real Estate
If you can be of assistance to me I will be pleased to offer you 20%
of the total fund.
I await your soonest response.
Respectfully yours,
Miss Marie Evis
Tel: +225597438528
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Anti-fraud resources:
