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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:
- "keep it confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: YOHAN BLAKE <a00000w1@gmail.com>
Reply-To: t000wnzim@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2022 15:48:25 +0200
Subject: INFORMATION
Good Day
I trust this message finds you to well
*THIS IS A PRIVATE TRANSACTION*, and as such I would like you to keep it
confidential between us. My name is Yohan from Zimbabwe. My Father a
*(FARMER)* passed on here in South Africa due to covid-19 complications but
before my father's death he entrusted a high sum of United State Dollars
into my mother's care.
I am currently in South Africa with my mother and little sister, but
seeking for a reliable person to assist me invests this money overseas.
For now, I will not put out much information until we establish trusted
relationships. Please reply me if you can help me so I can give you more
details
Warm Regards
Yohan B. Solomon
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Anti-fraud resources:
