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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- 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.
- owenfermor5@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Owen Fermor <mornganrichard@gmail.com>
Reply-To: owenfermore@planetmail.net
Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2021 09:35:16 +0200
Subject: Financial Benefits
Dear Sir/Madam
We invite all interested project owners and investors to our project
financing programme. I am the investment officer of a UAE based
investment company.
We are ready to fund projects outside the UAE, in the form of debt
finance, we grant loans to both Corporate and private entities at a
low interest rate of 2.5% ROI per annul.
The terms are very flexible and interesting. Kindly revert back if you
have projects that need funding for further discussion and
negotiation.
Telephone: +44 7537 169215
Kindly reply to my email : owenfermor5@gmail.com
Thanks
Mr. Owen Fermore
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Anti-fraud resources:
