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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:
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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: "I C BANCO" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <wsamson10@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2012 01:49:17 -0000
Subject: ABOUT YOUR BANK ACCOUNT
Dear Partner,
Greetings to you. I am Samson Williams, a banker from Ghana.
I have a deal for you. I need to transfer $ 9,000,000.00 US to you (Deposited only for transfer outside Ghana) to invest in your country. But I cannot be connected to this. 30% of the total fund will be for you & 70% for me. If you Agree you will need to follow these 3 simple steps to get the fund in your account.
1. I will put your personal details and identity in the banks computer data base system as owner of the fund.
2. I will give you the deposit documents of the fund with your name as the owner of the fund.
3. You will apply to head office of the banks transfer department to transfer the fund to you.
This is serious business so If you are willing to follow this 3 simple steps and get the fund in your account then you MUST reply with your details as such as
FULL NAME:...............................................................................................
HOUSE/OFFICE ADDRESS...........................................................................
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN...............................................................................
Phone number.............................................................................................
A SCAN COPY OF YOUR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT OR ANY NATIONAL IDENTITY CARD YOU HAVE
I await your reply
Samson Williams
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Anti-fraud resources: