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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)
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million 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)
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "top secret" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Musa Alomar <dr.musaalomar@gmail.com>
Reply-To: musaalomar001@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2020 10:25:13 +0000
Subject: Urgent Reply
Dear Friend,
I'm Mr. Musa Alomar, I know that this mail will come to you as a
surprise. I am the director in charge of the auditing and accounting
section of Coris Bank Ouagadougou Burkina Faso in West Africa. I hope
that you will not expose or betray this trust and confidence that I am
about to expose to you for the mutual benefit of our both families.
I need your urgent assistance in transferring the sum of $18.5 million
united states dollars immediately to your account. Please we would
like you to keep this proposal as a top secret and delete it if you
are not interested. Upon receipt of your reply, I will send you full
details on how the business will be executed and also note that you
will have 45% of the above mentioned sum if you agree to transact the
business.
Following information stated below are required:
1) Your age:
2) Your full name
3) Your house address:
4) Your marital status:
5) Your occupation/Profession:
6) Your direct telephone:
Yours, Sincerely,
Mr. Musa Alomar.
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Anti-fraud resources:
