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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:
- "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)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: george manda <george_manda01@btinternet.com>
Reply-To: george_manda01@ymail.com
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2010 14:49:20 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: From George Manda
>From George Manda
My name is George Manda, the only child of (late Chief Jeff Manda) who
died in the last political crisis. My late father was a famous Cocoa merchant base in Abidjan the economic capital of Ivory Coast(Cote d' Ivore).I am seeking for your urgent attention to help me transfer the sum of ( US$3.500,000.00) into your Bank account. Please I want you to know that I have all the necessary Document in relation to this fund because I am the next of kin to the fund but cannot withdraw from it because it is under fixed deposit,except if transfered into any foreign account as it was stated that the next of kin will nominate or provide.
I will offer you 15% of the total fund as mode of compensation for your assistance and time
Kindly mail me immediately you receive my mail for more details.
May God bless you.
George Manda
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Anti-fraud resources: