|
|
joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
|
|
"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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "calvary greetings" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: MRS SARAH JOHNSON <mrssarahjohnson777@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:26:43 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: CALVARY GREETINGS,
CALVARY GREETINGS,
I AM MRS SARAH JOHNSON A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN AND A WIDOW FROM ABIDJAN COTE D IVOIRE I WANT TO MAKE A DONATION OF $12.MILLION TO HELP ORPHANS AND WIDOWS AND CHARITABLE HOME IN YOUR COUNTRY. AND I ASSUMED THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE THIS FUND AND USE IT TO MY WISHED TO THE NEEDS IN YOUR COUNTRY AND I AM SERIOUSLY ILLED PLEASE ALWAYS PUTTING ME IN YOUR DAILY PRAYERS BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT WILL END WITH ME.
REPLY ME BACK IMMEDIATELY FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THIS FUND.
THANKS
MRS SARAH JOHNSON.
|
Anti-fraud resources: