|
|
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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "top secret" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Dr.darko Dr.darko" <dr.darkod@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 1 Jun 2014 14:51:49 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Dr.Darkod.
DEAR FRIEND,
PLEASE I WANT YOU TO READ THIS LETTER VERY
CAREFULLY AND I MUST APOLOGIZE FOR BRGING THIS MESSAGE INTO YOUR MAIL
BOX WITHOUT ANY FORMAL INTRODUCTION DUE TO THE URGENCY AND CONFIDENTIAL
OF THIS ISSUE AND I KNOW THAT THIS MESSAGE WILL COME TO YOU AS A
SURPRISE, PLEASE THIS IS NOT A JOKE AND I WILL NOT LIKE YOU TO JOKE WITH
IT.
I AM Dr.DARKOD A MEDICIAL DOCTOR HERE IN ACCRA Ghana,
I HOPED THAT YOU WILL NOT EXPOSE OR BETRAY THIS TRUST
AND CONFIDENT THAT I AM ABOUT TO ESTABLISH WITH YOU FOR THE MUTUAL
BENEFIT OF YOU AND I. I NEED YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE IN TRANSFERRING THE
SUM OF ($10.5) MILLIONS DOLLARS INTO YOUR ACCOUNT WITHIN 7 WORKING
BANKING DAYS.
THIS VERY
MONEY SHOULD BE DORMANT BY THE OF THIS VERY YEAR IN UBA BANK FOR AFRICA.
DUE TO THE OWNER OF THIS FUND DIED ALONG WITH HIS ENTIRE FAMILY
AND SUPPOSED NEXT OF KIN IN AN AIR CRASH SINCE JULY 31ST 2008. WAS THEIR
FAMILY DOCTOR.
I
WANT THE BANK TO RELEASE THESE FUNDS TO YOU AS THE NEAREST PERSON TO
THIS FAMILY FOREING BUISNESS BENEFICIARY WHILE I COME OVER TO YOUR
COUNTRY TO SHARE THIS
FUND WITH YOU AS SOON AS YOU CONFIRM THIS FUND INTO YOUR ACCOUNT AND ASK
ME TO COME OVER.
I DON'T
WANT THE MONEY TO GO INTO THE BANK TREASURE AS
AN ABANDONED FUND. SO THIS IS THE REASON WHY I CONTACTED YOU SO THAT
THE BANK WILL RELEASE THIS MONEY TO YOU AS THE NEXT OF KIN TO THE
DECEASED CUSTOMER.
PLEASE I WOULD LIKE YOU TO KEEP THIS PROPOSAL AS A
TOP SECRET AND DELETE IT IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTING.
UPON THE RECEIPT OF
YOUR REPLY AND INDICATION OF YOUR CAPABILITY, I WILL GIVE YOU FULL
DETAILS ON HOW THE BUSINESS WILL BE EXECUTED AND ALSO NOTE THAT YOU WILL
HAVE 50% OF THE ABOVE MENTIONED SUM IF YOU AGREE TO HANDLE THIS
BUSINESS WITH ME WHILE THE REMAINING 50% WILL BE FOR ME BECAUSE I DON'T
WANT ANYONE HERE TO KNOW MY INVOLVEMENT UNTIL YOU CONFIRM
THIS FUND INTO YOUR ACCOUNT AND ASK ME TO COME OVER FOR THE SHARING AS I
INDICATED.
I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU
IMMEDIATELY,
THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING.
WITH MY BEST REGARDS
Dr.DARKOD.
|
Anti-fraud resources:
