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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)
- "charles soludo" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "executive governor" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "certified bank draft" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Charles Soludo <sdhksddfdfsdfd7856@live.com.my>
Reply-To: <profcharles.soludo71@yahoo.it>
Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:15:42 -0800
Subject: CONFIRM DETAILS FOR PAYMENT
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA TINUBU SQUARE LAGOS From the Desk Of:Prof Charles SoludoExecutive Governor (CBN)Our Ref: CBN/IRD/CBX/021/07Contractor Amount:$22.5M
ATTENTION: HONOURABLE CONTRACTOR,
I SAW YOUR NAMES IN THE CENTRAL COMPUTER IN OUR OFFICE AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO CONTACT FOR YOUR OVERDUE CONTRACT PAYMENT OF US$22.5M PROGRAMMED IN A CERTIFIED BANK DRAFT AND READY TO BE TRANSFERED TO YOU,YOU ARE HEREBY ADVISE TO RECONFIRM YOUR FULL NAME,HOUSE ADDRESS,PHONE FOR VERIFICATION.
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Anti-fraud resources: