|
|
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:
- "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)
- "utmost confidentiality" (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: Kamaradin Mustapha <kamaradin_mustapha@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2016 21:27:42 +0000 (UTC)
Subject:
Hello My Dear,
My name is Mr.Kamaradin Mustapha, I am a Bank audit Manager in Cote D'Ivoire. I have a deal or business proposal to the tune of ($18.5 MILLION Dollars) presently in bond form in an escrow account, we shall share in ratio of 40% for you and 60% for me. Everything about this transaction is legal, so if you are interested get back to me urgently.
When I hear from you, we then commence all arrangements and I will give you more details on how we should handle this project. Please treat this business with utmost confidentiality and send me the following as asap:
(1) Full names:
(2) Private phone number:
(3) Current residential address:
(4) Occupation with company name if available:
(5) Age and Sex:
Kind Regards.
Mr Kamaradin Mustapha
|
Anti-fraud resources: