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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)
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "transfer into your account" (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)
- "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)
- "transaction is risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mohammad Ahmed <mohammadahmed1516@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mohammadahmed7760@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2021 07:45:00 -0800
Subject: GREETINGS FROM MR.MOHAMMAD AHMED / CAN I TRUST YOU?
My Dear Friend.
Greetings.
I know this message will come to you as a surprise; My name is Mr.
Mohammad Ahmed a banker with Bank of Africa Burkina Faso West Africa,
Please i want to transfer an abandoned fund in total sum of 13.5
Million United States Dollars into your account , if you are
interested do not hesitate to get back to me with your personal
information for trust and confident to enable me feed you with more
detail such as to let you know source of the fund and how it will be
transfer into your account.
My dear you will provide account for transfer of the fund by our bank
management and once the fund transferred into your account 50% is for
you and 50% for me and do not entertain any atom for fear for the
transaction will be done legal and official on your behalf without any
problem.
The transaction is risk free and there will be no harm, I will like
you to respond back to me immediately after reading this message to
enable us proceed ahead for mutual benefit.
I know the source of the fund and I assure you of receiving it into
your account without any problem, Read this message and if we have
business urgently get back to me with your personal information
required bellow for more trust and to enable me feed you with more
details on how the transaction can be executed in your favor.
I am looking forward to hear back from you urgently.
1. Full name:.........
2. Home Address:.........
3. Phone.............
4. Occupation:.............
5. Age:............
6. Country:........
7. Sex........
8. Your Passport or ID card or Driving License
Thanks.
Yours faithfully
Mr. Mohammad Ahmed.
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