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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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!)
- "royalfastlink.loans@gmail.com" (This email address looks like addresses used in fake loan scams. Be suspicious of any lender who uses a free webmail address or who is based in different country from yourself.)
- 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.
- royalfastlink.loans@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Bernard Royal <royalfastlink.loans@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2011 16:35:49 +0800
Subject:
Do you need a loan of any kind? with a low interest rate
height of 2 %?if so please fill out the loan application form and return
the following
us through our email:royalfastlink.loans@gmail.com
Full name:
Country:
Address:
Status:
Sex:
Age:
Marital status:
Occupation:
Phone:
Currently the position in the workplace:
Monthly income:
Next of Kin::
Loan Amount Required:
Loan duration:
Purpose of loan:
Waiting to hear from you soonest.
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Anti-fraud resources:
