|
|
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.
- The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "toyota lottery" (no such lottery exists)
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
- They don't notify winners by email.
- You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
- They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
- They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
- They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
- They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
- They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- jacob54534@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Mark Garten <andersonjacob219@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Mark Garten <jacob54534@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 11:27:45 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: TOYOTA AUTOMOBILES COMPANY
TOYOTA AUTOMOBILES COMPANYSOI 23 SANTON CITIES 10120,JOHANNESBURG (R.S.A)COMPANY REG NUMBER: 45000134WWW.TOYOTA.CO.ZA
Dear E-mail Owner
This is to inform you that you have won a (Brand New Toyota Lottery 2015 Car) and a Cash prize of $ 1,000,000 00,(One Million Dollars). The car comes with a special TOYOTA INSURANCE Cover for Two whole years that is till the next promotion. It also comes with a one year warranty and FREE repairs at any (TOYOTA AUTOMOBILES) depot or service centre worldwide. You're Batch No: 515944052/166 and Winning No: 1544. You are therefore been notified as one of the lucky winner in our 2015 NEW YEAR Charity bonanza. You are to contact your Claim Agent with bellow information on this (Email jacob54534@gmail.com)Please Fill the Information below:A Scan copy of your Identification (Driving License or any Valid I.D Proof) is needed(1). Full Name:(2). Full Address:(3). Occupation:(4). Age:(5). Sex:(6). Country:(7). Winning Email:(8). mobile Number:
Contact Person: Â Jacob AndersonContact Email: (Email jacob54534@gmail.com)Phone Number: Â +27742347852Congratulation on Your Winnings.
|
Anti-fraud resources: