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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:
- "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: Mason Cooper <achibozor@gmail.com>
Reply-To: masoncooper002@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2022 22:40:11 +0100
Subject: Greetings from Canada, lets be partners in this deal
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Hello Dear
I am surprised I did not receive a response from you from my previous
email, I am Barr.Mason Cooper, I humbly ask if you are related to my
client,who died a couple of years ago in a car accident here in my
country whom you share the same last name with. I wish to also inquire
if it is possible to have different families with the same last name
as yours by coincidence who do not share the same common roots? Kindly
get back to me if your email is still Valid to enable me to give you
the details of my message or make headway in my search.
Regards,
Mason Cooper Esq
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Anti-fraud resources:
