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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:
- "00,000.00" (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: "MR HAN HARLAN" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrhanharlan@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2024 13:27:06 +0100
Subject: =?UTF-8?B?W1NwYW0tTWFpbF0gUmUgOiBDYW4gSSBUcnVzdCBZb3UgPw==?=
Greetings Sir / Ma
I am Mr Han Harlan, I work with a Bank here in CHINA as head of the audit department. During our fiscal bank general account auditing, I discovered an overdue funds sum of $18,300,000.00 (Millions) US Dollars belonging to a customer who died over 10 years ago leaving nobody to inherit his funds.
I am contacting you so we may have an agreement and proper arrangement Because i want to make you the next of KIN . note 50% of the sum will be for you while the other 50% will be my share as well. All arrangements will be made under a transparent and legitimate framework.
NOTE : I will legally process the papers in your name and I will take care of all expenses and also want to invest part of my share in that business you can handle effectively .
Full details will be disclosed to you on your expression of interest. I will be waiting for your quick response in order to update you with full detail and be informed that this deal will be executed legally.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr Han Harlan
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Anti-fraud resources:
