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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:
- "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)
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: David Calmels <david.calmels@univ-paris13.fr>
Reply-To: mrs_sarahbamba2015@hotmail.com
Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2022 15:11:46 +0200
Subject: Greetings From Mrs Sarah Bamba
Greetings to you sorry if this message came to you as a surprise My name
is Mrs Sarah Bamba I found your email address through my late husband's
internet dater late Mr Bamba Henry,
I am presently admitted at the hospital suffering from blood cancer and
Parkinson diseases. I have only about a few months to live and I want
you to Transfer the sum of ( $6.000,000.00) united states dollars to
your account so you can assist me Distribute my funds to charity homes
in your country ,
I will give you more details or full story as soon as i receive your
reply as the fund was deposited with a Bank,
Remain Blessed
Mrs Sarah Bamba
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Anti-fraud resources:
