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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "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)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "k.haro44net@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Kevin Haroun <kevinharo911@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2022 15:02:53 -0800
Subject: Hello friend,
Hello friend,
I am Attorney Kevin Haroun, a solicitor to a client who died due to a
brief illness (Heart Attack)in 2015 and left a fixed deposit of 14.5
Million dollars in a Bank here in the Benin Republic without leaving
any next of Kin.
I am writing you to seek your consent to present you as his next of
kin as a foreigner.
What I am proposing is 100% risk free and I guarantee that you stand
to make a lot of money for yourself.
I can prepare all the documents to back my claim and have these funds
transferred to you in less than 2 weeks and we can both split the
proceeds.
Kindly get back to me in receipt of this email at:k.haro44net@outlook.com
Attorney Kevin Haroun.
Attorney at lawyer & Solicitor
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Anti-fraud resources:
