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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:
- "consignment " (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mr Thomas Philip <okeosis4@gmail.com>
Reply-To: thomasphilip401@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2021 08:51:22 +0100
Subject: Attention beneficiary,
Are you alive or dead? We received several emails from one Mr. William
Hamilton who narrated to us about the auto car accident you had 2
weeks ago. Mr. William made us to understand with some proof that
you’re in hospital for treatment but there is no hope of your
recovery. He stated that he is your business associate and your next
of kin whom you have chosen and permitted to inherit all your
properties. He is contacting this me and the Homeland Security office
base on your consignment box which I was about to deliver to you. He
requested that the whole amount should now be transfer into his own
personal account as he stated below.
Account Name Mr. William Hamilton
Citibank Banamex USA
2029 Century Park East Los Angeles, CA 90067
Routing Number: 122233645
Account Number: 5944130210
We request your confirmation before we can process this transfer to
Mr. William’s Bank Account. This is to avoid releasing your money to
wrong person because Mr. William is too eager and ready to pay the fee
of $200 for the of the Fund Release Order permits demanded by the
Homeland Security and follow every other legal instruction to have
this money into his account. If you did not have auto accident and you
did not permit Mr. William to claim your money, kindly reply this
message with your full contact information so we can process the
release of the $10.5 million dollars to you.
I’ll be waiting to hear from you soon.
Mr Thomas Philip
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Anti-fraud resources:
