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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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.
- This email message is a "dying widow" scam.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- murray.ross55@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Murray Ross <slaurent2@ac-lyon.fr>
Reply-To: murray.ross55@gmail.com
Date: 15 May 2021 01:57:55 +0200
Subject: How honesty are you?
Hello My Dear,
Thanks for your time and attention. I am Mrs. Murray Ross the wife of the late Mr. Richard Ross. I am a Asian American Citizen. My husband worked with the Brunei Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd (BSP) for twenty years before he died in the year 2010. We were married for ten years without a child. My Husband died after a brief illness that lasted for only two weeks. Since his death I decided not to re-marry or get a child outside my matrimonial home.
When my late husband was alive we deposited the sum of $5.5 Million with a Bank in Turkey. The bank management just wrote me as the beneficiary to come forward to sign for the release of this fund or rather issue a letter of authorization to somebody to receive it on my behalf if I can not come over. Presently, I'm in a hospital where I have been undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer. My doctor has told me that I have only a few months to live. It is my last wish to see this money
distributed to charity organizations, my health and the pandemic have really proved that life is not all about the wealth and purpose can't be found in riches.
Please, I'm seeking for any honest person who will get the Funds from the Bank. And use this money to fund the poor, orphanages, widows and charity organizations. I took this decision because I don't have any child that will inherit this money and I don't want my husband's hard earned money to be misused by his greedy relatives. I don't want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly manner. Hence the reason for taking this bold decision.
I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going if i die. Due to the state of my health. I can not communicate by phone because my illness has affected my throat. I prefer to communicate by email. I will appreciate it if you give it a thought.
Expecting your response at murray.ross55@gmail.com
Thanks
Yours Truly,
Mrs. M. Ross
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