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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:
- "with your full names" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "trunk box" (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 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)
- "can i trust you?" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
- sgtmarked11982@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Sgt Mark Edwards <farrahmalik40@gmail.com>
Reply-To: sgtmarked11982@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2021 01:48:13 -0700
Subject: Can I Trust you?
Hello,
I am Sergeant Mark Edwards of the U.S. Army 2nd Brigade, 25th
Infantry Division stationed in Afghanistan.
Please grant me the benefit of the doubt and hear me out. I want to
inform you that I have in my possession right now the sum of (Twenty
Five Million Dollars) we recovered it from the Taliban’s stronghold
hideout and the United States Military will soon pull out completely
from Afghanistan therefore I have to act very fast before time runs
out.
To escape military awareness, I decided to lodge the money at the
United Nations Security Vault pending when I get a reliable Partner
who will receive the Fund on my behalf. While depositing the money I
declared the real content of the METAL TRUNK BOX (Consignment) as
Family Valuable Treasure. Everything is legal. I have made a concrete
arrangement to move the funds out of Afghanistan through Remittance
Channel.
The most important Question is, Can I Trust you? I will offer you 40
percent and 60 percent share for me.If you are interested I will
furnish you with more details upon receipt of your response.
I need a straight answer; YES OR NO. If yes, then let's work together
and let me have your contact details. There is no time to waste. I
must complete this before we the (U.S. Army) complete pull out process
from this country. Already we have started pulling out slowly.
Get back to me with your Full names. Physical address. Occupation and
Mobile numbers for proper filing and processing.
I trust you and hope you will never let me down.
Please reply to: sgtmarked11982@gmail.com
Yours Sincerely,
Sergeant Mark Edwards
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