|
|
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:
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "cheque " (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 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 mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: From =?iso-8859-1?Q?FedEx=AE_Courier_Service!!!?= <info@fedex.org>
Reply-To: fedexcourierdeliverypost@london.ir
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:04:50 +0600 (BDT)
Subject: Batch # 409979E
>From FedEx® Courier Service!!!
Dear E-mail Owner,
Your email address was selected among Five (5) lucky winners, here is your
Ref # BTD/610/09 and Batch # 409979E which drew the Lucky Numbers
14-21-25-39-40-47(5) and subsequently won you £500,000.00GBP (Five Hundred
Thousand Great Britain Pound Sterling) as one of the jackpot winner in the
on going Microsoft Online Sweepstakes 2009. You are advice to contact Mr.
Cox Wallace (FedEx Courier Company) with your personal details inorder for
your Cheque & Certificate to be Delivered.
**********************************************************
Personal Verification Form {Fill & Return}
**********************************************************
1. Full Name....... 2. House Address............
3. Country......... 4. Telephone Number........
5. Occupation..... 5. Sex........ 6. Age.........
**********************************************************
FEDEX COURIER COMPANY
Mr. Cox Wallace
Head Dispatch Officer
Telephone Number: +2347062286920
E-mail:- fedexcourierdeliverypost@london.ir
--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.
Anti-fraud resources:
