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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 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: "Ocean Loans - Finance" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <oceanfin.alert@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:37:38 +0200
Subject: Do You Need a Loan?
New Page 1
Are you a business man or woman, are you in any financial problem or do
you need funds to start up your own business?
Do you need a loan for any reason such as:
* Personal Loan * Business Start-up * Education
* Debt Consolidation * Hard Money Loans * Business Expansion
We issue loans at very low interest loans rate of 3.1% and with no credit
check. Ocean Finance and Mortgages Limited is authorized and regulated by
the Financial Services Authority.
Interested persons can contact us by replying this email with the following
information:
(1) Name of Applicant (2) Country of Residence (3) City & State
(4) Telephone / Cell Number (5) Loan Amount Required (6) Duration of Loan
We have lots of flexible plans to suit all your financial needs.
For more inquiries, please contact Richard Cole on +447700022666.
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Anti-fraud resources:
