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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:
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "huge sum of money" (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 united states 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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "contact me immediately" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr Mele Kolo kyari" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mmkky64352@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2022 08:26:16 +0200
Subject: Urgently...
Dear Sir,
My name is Mele Kolo Kyri, I am the group managing director of NNPC. I will like you to be in partnership with me for the investment of Huge sum of money.
When I assumed office as head of my Country's Oil industry, I discovered a huge sum of money amounted to Fifty Seven Million United States Dollars ($57,000,000.00) abandoned by my predecessor and I need your assistance to help me invest this fund in your country for our mutual benefit. I will use my position to move the fund legally to your Country for investment. All the legal protective documents will be ready before the transfer will take place.
kindly contact me immediately for more details on how to move the fund to your Country legally with 100% risk free.
I hope to hear from you urgently.
Thanks
Mr Mele Kolo kyari
(GMD NNPC)
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Anti-fraud resources:
