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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "brucevansaun@live.co.uk" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- 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.
- +447035996514 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Bruce Van Saun" <brucevansaun@live.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2011 06:46:14 -0500
Subject: SWIFT TRANSFER TO YOUR ONLINE NOMINATED ACCOUNT:
FROM THE DESK OF BRUCE VAN SAUN
ROYAL BANK Of SCOTLAND STORAGE HOUSE
42 ST ANDREW SQUARE, EDINBURGH EH2 2YE UNITED KINGDOM.
BANK WEB EMAIL(:www.rbs.co.uk
KINDLY ASSIST IN THE TRANSFER OF THE SUM OF ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY
FIVE MILLON,EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND
BRITISHPOUNDSSTERLINGS(125.8M.GBP)ONLY,VIA INTERNATIONAL ELECTRONIC
BANK WIRE TRANSFER TO YOUR ACCOUNT IF YOU KNOW THE MONEY WILL BE SAFE
TILL I COME FOR MY SHARE.
DETAILS OF THE TRANSFER WILL BE GIVEN ONCE YOU REPLY ON TRUST.
Regards.
Mr. Bruce V.Saun
Group Finance Director (RBS).
Private Email:brucevansaun@live.co.uk
Tel:+44-703-599-6514
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Anti-fraud resources:
