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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- 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)
- "can i trust you?" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "diplomatic immunity" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "diplomatic courier" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "dilon_280@aol.in" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: dilon_280@aol.in
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:18:42 +0200
Subject: From Dilon r
My name is David Dilon, I am an American soldier in peace keeping force in Iraq
and serving in the military of the 1st Armored Division in Iraq . As you know
insurgents attack us daily.
We succeeded in moving funds belonging to Saddam Hussein's family totaling
US $12.8 Million dollars in cash and would like to transfer this money to you for
safe keeping till we can come over to meet you and for your efforts we would
give you 40% while the remaining 60% will be for my partners and I.
Since Iraq is a war zone we plan on using diplomatic courier and shipping the
money out in three large silver boxes, using diplomatic immunity. If you are
interested I will send you the full details, my job is to find a good partner
that we can trust and that will assist us; the question is can I trust you?
When you receive this mail, kindly send me a reply signifying your interest
also include your private telephone/fax numbers for quick communication and any
other relevant contact details. This transaction is simple and risk free and the
boxes can be shipped out in 48hrs.
EMAIL:dilon_280@aol.in
Regards,
David Dilon
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