joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days
  jwSpamSpy

Home
About Us
Spam
419/Nigeria
Fraud
Contact

"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:

Fraud email example:

From: "BestMark" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <michlbre@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:07:13 -0800
Subject: Mystery Shopper Position and Customer Service Evaluations.


BestMark is a National Mystery Shopper Service Provider Quality, integrity, strong work ethics are our foundation to success
marketing research, mystery shopping, employee development, and strategic planning.

Our goal is to partner with companies who use the program as a means to reward and recognize those people that are doing well. We like to catch people doing things right!
We are located near Columbus, Ohio and we offer assignments across the country. We use shoppers that live near the location to be evaluated. We need shoppers in every part of the country, not just Central Ohio. We encourage you, as well as your friends and family, to complete an application. We are always looking for good shoppers!

We trust that you will be a part of our shopping family for a long time. We will do our best to keep you informed of upcoming projects as well as provide you with a clear, concise, and complete understanding of the assignment.

Your identity will be kept confidential. You will be paid 10% for every survey you complete and receive a bonus that can be used for transportation costs.
No commitment is required or this job, your hours will be flexible.
If you are interested please send this information:
Full name
Address (No P O Box)
City
State
Zipcode
Telephone number
Cellular number
Age
Occupation
Again, thanks for your interest. We look forward to having a professional and personal business relationship with you very soon.
Sincerely,
Dave Agius
5605 Green Circle Drive, Suite #200,
Minnetonka,
MN 55343
www.bestmark.com

Anti-fraud resources: