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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mike Ondra <admin@ukrfast.com>
Reply-To: MikeOndra@hotmail.com
Date: 20 Jun 2024 22:35:28 -0700
Subject: WATING FOR YOUR REPLY.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am Mike Ondra assistant to Mark Stewart who is a advisor and former director BDO South Africa. I write to you with regards to one of my late clients who left a huge amount in a private institution unclaimed.
The amount involved is USD$18,000.000.00. My client next of kin is very young and a girl who is looking for a foreign investor to assist her re-invests this fund into a lucrative business venture.
Your kind response will enable me to give you details on how this transaction will be finalized.
Yours truly,
Mike Ondra
( Advisor BDO )
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Anti-fraud resources:
