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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million us dollars" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: LarysaAndrich@katamail.com
Reply-To: wbuk03@katamail.com
Date: 11 Jan 2024 02:00:51 -0800
Subject: PLEASE HELP ME TO INVEST THIS FUNDS. K
Dear friend,
You may be surprised to receive this message. I got your contact
from my late husband Diary and I decided to contact you since I
have no other means to reach out to anyone because of my present
condition and the War in my country Ukraine. I am Mrs Larysa
Andrich, a Widow to Engr. Nazar Andrich. I lost my husband and
family through a Russian Air Strike Bomb that landed in our home
and am the only survivor but in a critical condition with serious
injuries all over my body. I am in an emergency ward right now
for a major Surgery in the next one week and my survivor is in
the hands of God, please I need your prayers.
I am contacting you because of the money my late husband invested
with a Finance Investment Company in the USA and this investment
has matured to the sum of Twenty Five Million US Dollars. My late
husband is one of the shareholders of Odessa Oil refinery in
Ukraine. I want you to use part of this money to build an
Orphanage Home in memory of my late husband instead of losing
this money to the Finance Company. Get back to me quickly if you
are interested in handling these for me. A Letter of
Authorization will be issued for you, authorizing you to receive
this funds on my behalf. Waiting for your response.
Thanks,
Larysa Andrich
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Anti-fraud resources:
