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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:
- "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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Hon. Suleiman" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <hon.suleimanbagudu1@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 30 May 2021 04:23:06 -0700
Subject: Reply urgent
Hello Dear
I hope my email meets you well. I am Hon. Suleiman Bagudu, a Top Politician
here in Nigeria. I am Delighted to reach you via email with this
potential Business Proposal that will be of mutual benefit to both of us.
Due to the fear of the Government of the day (Nigeria) the sum of US50 million
United States Dollars have been moved out to abroad through the Land
border and I urgently need your collaboration to deposit these funds in
your custody.
Please kindly revert as soon as possible to declare your willingness
to partner with me in this project.
Send me Your full information including a copy of your ID as you reply,
to enable me to give you details. If you permit me your direct telephone
number, I will call you for further briefing.
Regards,
Hon. Suleiman Bagudu
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Anti-fraud resources:
