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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:
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Ahmed Hassan <alahmed4445aa@gmail.com>
Reply-To: alahmedhassan5602@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2023 17:55:57 +0000
Subject: With Due Respect
Hello,
I know that this mail will come to you as a surprise, but do not worry
as i believe that you can be of great assistance to me. I need your
urgent assistance in transferring the sum of $11.3 million USD to your
private account Where this money can be shared between us.
The money has been here in our Bank lying dormant for years now
without anybody coming for the claim. I want to release the money to
you as the relative to our deceased customer (the account owner) who
died in a plane crash with his family on 16th October 2005.
By indicating your interest I will send you the full details on how
the business will be executed.
Best Regards,
Ahmed Hassan
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Anti-fraud resources:
