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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:
- "might come to you as a surprise" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Rose Raya" <mrsbiyufangchi01@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrsroseraya00@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2021 06:28:18 +0100
Subject: PLEASE I NEED YOUR URGENT REPLY
I know that this message might come to you as a surprise because we
don't know each other. I have a Very important request that made me
to contact you; I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer disease which
doctors have confirmed to me that I have just few days to leave, Now
that I’m ending the race like this without any family members and no
child,
I’m a business woman from Indonesia dealing with gold exportation here
in the Republic of Burkina Faso. I have decided to hand over the sum
of ($10.5 Million Dollar) in my account to you for the help of
orphanage homes in your country to fulfill my wish on earth. You will
take 50% of the money and share the rest to orphanage homes, I shall
give you more details with the contact of the bank for you to contact
them when you reply to me with the answer below.
1. YOUR FULL NAME:
2. YOUR AGE:
3. SEX:
4. NATIONALITY:
5. COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE:
6. TELEPHONE NUMBER:
7. YOUR MARITAL STATUS:
8. YOUR OCCUPATION:
9. SEND TO ME YOUR PICTURE:
10. YOU HAVE TO ASSURE ME YOU WILL ACT AS I HAVE INSTRUCTED YOU IF THE
MONEY GETS TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT.
Yours Faithfully,
Mrs. Rose Raya
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Anti-fraud resources:
