|
|
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:
- 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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "with your full names" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million us dollars" (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)
- "million dollars" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs Erina Masako" <erinamasako@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: erinamasako@live.com
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:43:40 +0300
Subject: ***BULK*** Urgent
Dear Friend,
I am Mrs Erina Masako. and i have been suffering from ovarian cancer disease
and the doctor says that i have just two weeks to live.I am from (Tokyo) Japan
but based in Africa - Ghana since eight years ago as business woman dealing
with gold exportation.
Now that i am about to end the race like this,without any family members and
no child.I have 3 Million US DOLLARS in (ADB) Ghana which i instructed the
bank to give to Osu Orphanage in Ghana.But my mind is not at rest because i am
writing this letter now through the help of my computer beside my sick bed.
I also have 4.5Million US Dollars at ECOBANK Ghana here in Ghana and a cash
deposit in a private safe of 5 Million Dollars which I want to give to you,but
you will assure me that you will take 50% of the money and give 50% to the
orphanages home in your country for my heart to rest.
REPLY WITH YOUR FULL NAMES
AGE
COUNTRY
OCCUPATION
Yours fairly friend,
Mrs Erina Masako
|
Anti-fraud resources:
