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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:
- "loan amount" (Beware of fake loan offers. Real lenders would not normally use free webmail addresses such as Yahoo, nor would they lend to individuals or small businesses in a different country from where they are based. Beware of mobile phones or redirector numbers!)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- williamstimguaranteel@hotmail.com (Hotmail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "GUARANTEE LOAN Firm" <info@loan.com>
Reply-To: williamstimguaranteel@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:37:16 +0200 (CEST)
Subject:
Greetings to You
GUARANTEE LOAN Firm is offering a floating loan scheme at 3% interest rate
without any collateral. (Only identification) The Minimum amount you can
borrow is $5,000.00 US Dollars to Maximum of
$10.Million Do you need Loan for individual or corporate concern? Then
apply now
APPLICATION FOR LOAN
First Name...
Last Name: .........
Initials: ............
Sex: .................
Date of Birth...
Place of Birth: .............
Marital Status: ..............
Occupation: ................
Home Address: ..................
Phone No: ..................
Mobile No: ................
City: ..................
State: .................
Country: ................
Zip Code: .................
Loan Amount: .................
Loan Duration: ................
Monthly Income: ....................
E-mail Address: .....................
All replies should be forwarded to the Company's
E-mails: williamstimguaranteel@hotmail.com
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This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.
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Anti-fraud resources:
