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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:
- "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.Patrick Joseph" <patrickjos09@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 25 May 2022 00:22:23 -0700
Subject: I expect your urgent reply
Hello Friend,
I am Mr. Hasan Ali Habib, the manager of auditing and accounting at
ADB Bank here in Burkina Faso West Africa. I am contacting you to
partner with me to retrieve the sum of (US$27.5 Million) Only. The
deposit was made by our deceased client Edward P. Gilligan. I propose
a 40% of the total amount to you after receiving the funds
successfully, and I assure you that this transaction is 100% risk free
and legal. I seek your partnership to claim these funds to avoid being
confiscated by the bank. Get back to me for more details.
I expect your urgent reply
Best Regards.
Mr. Hasan Ali Habib.
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Anti-fraud resources:
