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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:
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "winners@kiapromo.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- "info@kiapromo.com" (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.
- 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: KIA PROMO <agimp@regione.sicilia.it>
Reply-To: winners@kiapromo.com
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 01:34:28 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: Confirm information
KIA MOTORS INTERNATIONAL PROMO!!!
Ref No: KIA/2AC/2010
Batch No: 042010
Serial No: KIA022AC
Dear winner
This is to notify you that Kia Motors held an international Promo/Bonanza in Abuja, Nigeria due to the massive sales of our Product in the African region, so we have decided to use Nigeria as our Redemption centre.
Your Email and registration detail was selected by an automated machine because of the visit of our site, use of our product and registrations to our database worldwide
We have therefore selected you amongst seven (7) others worldwide to receive a Brand New 2010 Kia Optima car and a whooping cash of sixty seven thousand united state dollars ($67,000)
This winning is subject to disqualification if the winner(s) fail to complete their claims processing after 10 working days
Contact our customer care for claims with subject “CLAIMSâ€
winners@kiapromo.com
TEL: +234 703 875 2704
Any Prize not claimed after 14th April will automatically be forfeited; if you think you are receiving this Mail in Error please contact our help desk for more details on info@kiapromo.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
