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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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Megumi Miyoko <william.williamrobort@gmail.com>
Reply-To: me434921@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2021 03:25:31 -0700
Subject: ATTENTION, DEAR FRIEND
--
I'm sorry if I invaded your privacy while this is never my ideal way
of connecting to people. I came across your email online and I
decided to write you up for some confidentiality talk.
Don't be surprised to read this message, but the summary of my message
is that I want you to receive the funds of my deceased husband. He
left some money in my non-resident account in my name. You receive the
money and donate it to a charity of your choice. This is because I
suffer from life-threatening illnesses (breast cancer and throat
cancer). So the doctor said I wouldn't live for more than two months.
I would like to take this opportunity to donate my heritage to a
charity home.
I decided to do this because there is a lot of suffering around the
world, especially among underprivileged children in Asia. I have been
involved in this crisis for seven years. My doctor declared my death
within two months because my throat and breast cancer were chronically
reported.
I need your help to receive my fund. My deceased husband left for me
before his death. My dream is to use the money to help charities and
poor orphans. Please write and send a reply here. So I can write more
about myself and connect you to a remittance payment bank. So that you
can receive the funds on my behalf.
Try to spend 60% of this money on charity. And take 40% for yourself
and your support. For security reasons, I appeal to you not to discuss
this transaction with a third party even if you will not assist me
because any leakage of this information will be harmful to me. I hope
you understand me very well.
If you are interested to assist me in this, please write to me, So
that I will give you more information regarding this. I will
appreciate you so much. I am waiting for your reply.
Megumi Miyoko
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Anti-fraud resources:
