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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.
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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "there is no risk involved" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +2348054243948 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
Fraud email example:
From: "tonnyfrank4@terra.es" <tonnyfrank4@terra.es>
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 18:00:47 +0200 (MEST)
Subject: From Engineer Tonny Frank
From Engineer Tonny Frank
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC),
P.o. Box 256 Victoria Island Lagos,
Nigerian
Tel:+234-8054243948
Date: 11/08/2006
DEAR FRIEND,
TRANSFER OF USD25MILLION INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. THIS IS AN INTENTIONAL OVER INVOICED CONTRACT SUM WHICH IS NOW APPROVED FOR PAYMENT. LETS WORK IT OUT TOGETHER FOR OUR JOINT BENEFIT. THERE IS NO RISK INVOLVED. MORE DETAILS WHEN YOU RESPOND SHOWING YOUR INTEREST TO WORK WITH ME.
REGARDS
TONNY FRANK.
Prueba el Nuevo Correo Terra; Seguro, rápido, fiable.
Anti-fraud resources: