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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:
- 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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million us 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)
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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: IKOBO VISA COMPANY <info@ikobo.com>
Reply-To: expresscourierservice@9.cn
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:49:10 -0500
Subject: Our Ref: IKG/NG/ICO
Our Ref: IKG/NG/ICO
Your Ref:
IKobo is a company that specializes in money transfer through Visa
Card. As part of our commitment in bringing our services to the world,
iKobo wishes to announce to you that your email emerged as one of
the lucky winners to receive a grant of 2.5 million US Dollars. This
fund would be made available to you through an iKobo Visa card. We
have concluded plans to deliver this card to you as soon as possible.
Please contact the Courier Company :
Contact Name: Humphery Gill
Email: expresscourierservice@9.cn
Phone number: +2348034247798
YOUR NAME:
DELIVERY ADDRESS:
PHONE NUMBER:
SSN NUMBER:
OCCUPATION:
AGE:
SEX:
As soon as we receive the above details we shall immediately proceed
with the delivery of your card.We look forward to hearing from you
soon. Please Note:You are to pay not more than the sum of only $100.00
for delivery fees cost and once that is done, your visa card will get
to your location within the next 24hrs.
Kindest Regards,
Alex Brown.
Funds Remittance Department
www.ikobo.com.ng
Director Of Foreign Operations.
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Anti-fraud resources:
