|
|
joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
|
|
"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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "BRAD LAWSON" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <bradlawson@goldenpower.net>
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:03:13 -0000
Subject: URGENT REPLY
My name is Brad Lawson. I am the secretary to an independent external auditor representing the World Bank's Debt Management Offices in Europe, Asia and America.
I have on my table an abandoned payment file containing your details. The file shows that you have correctly made an application to have the fund released to you.
It is also clearly noted on the file that the beneficiary could not handle the financial commitment required. From our Investigations, your payment process was misappropriated. Due to this, the funds were pegged and abandoned.
The World Bank is closing its payment window at the end of next month and any
pending payment would have to be till the beginning of april. It lieu of this, I have been instructed to reach you so that your payment can be released on time.
These funds are ready to be processed and transferred to you within the
next 24-48hrs. Upon your response to this email reconfirming your contact details, I shall give you further directives.
Kindly reconfirm your contact details list below.
* FULL NAME:
* FULL POSTAL ADDRESS:
* TEL PHONE:
* FAX:
Mr Brad Lawson
AUDITOR
Email : bradlawson@goldenpower.net
|
Anti-fraud resources:
