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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.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a next of kin 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.
- roberdavidsonllp@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Robert Davidson Esq" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <roberdavidsonllp@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2021 13:35:30 -0500
Subject: Importance: High
Greetings to you!
I am a lawyer based in Canada.
I saw your details during my search for any surviving relative of my late client.Be informed that you have a striking similarity in name and country of origin with my late client who died along with his wife and daughter in a ghastly accident without a trace of any relative in Canada. We are talking about huge amount left unclaimed. Allow me present you as the next of kin to receive this inheritance. I will email you evidence and details of my proposal once I receive your response. This is 100% risk free and legitimate, the process will be handled professionally and in confidential manner. Upon your revert,I will provide all the relevant documents to prove the genuineness of this transaction. Please contact me either via: (Email: roberdavidsonllp@gmail.com)
Good to hear from you.
Yours Sincerely,
Robert Davidson Esq.
Tel: +1 (647) 258-6353
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Anti-fraud resources:
