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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.
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Philip Robbins <terminal@kargroup.com>
Reply-To: <philprobbins2@e1.ru>
Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2021 14:26:28 -0700
Subject: Your Ref: Fund Transfer
Sir,
Permit me to make this very important request through this median due to its urgency and confidential nature. My name is Philip Robbins, a lawyer in the Netherlands. I am confiding in you in a very crucial matter relating to a huge fund deposited in the bank by my late client: Mr Stefan, before his sudden death in 2017 . I am seeking for your consent to authorize me to nominate you as the heir to the deceased since he left no heir behind. Upon you acceptance I will instruct his bank to remit the sum of $7.5Million deposited in a suspended bank account to you. The custodian bank has mandated me as his lawyer to present the heir to apply for the release of this fund otherwise the fund will be confiscated to the banks treasury account, hence the need of contacting you to avoid this lost. Be informed that this intended transaction will be executed under a legal manner that will protect you and me from any breach of the law. All the details you may require about the transaction and how it will be processed will be given when I get your response. Note that we will share the funds in equal ratio (50 percent each) for our honest participation as I cannot do it alone without you.
I look forward for you immediate reply.
(Attorney at Law)
The Hague, The Netherlands
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Anti-fraud resources:
