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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:
- "huge sum of money" (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)
- "j.mwenti@gmx.co.uk" (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: "Mr. Philip Jabulani " <sandradavid9400@gmail.com>
Reply-To: j.mwenti@gmx.co.uk
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2023 17:03:24 +0100
Subject: From Mr. Philip Jabulani
Good day.
I have sent this message before to you but did not receive any reply.
I am soliciting for a mutual relationship between your good self and
myself over an urgent business matter.
I am sure that this business will be of enormous interest to you and
also to our mutual advantage.
I am in possession of privileged information about a huge sum of money
totalling $20.5 million deposited in our bank branch by our late
client.
We would like to appoint you as a heir to our late client, as there
are no existing heirs in our bank record.
If you are interested in this business, please send us a reply on:
j.mwenti@gmx.co.uk
and we would forward more Information about the business to you.
Yours sincerely.
Mr. Philip Jabulani
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Anti-fraud resources:
