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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 message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "contactus@cantonohio.gov" <customer-unit@live.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 14:16:27 -0400
Subject: RE: GOOD DAY..PLEASE RESPOND AS REQUIRED.
HELLO,
WE WERE DIRECTED TO FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO YOU. TAKE THIS VERY SERIOUSLY
AND KEEP THE DETAILS CONFIDENTIAL:
WE HAVE IN OUR CUSTODY FUND LEFT BEHIND TO YOUR FAMILY BY A LATE RELATIVE.
GET BACK TO US IMMEDIATELY FOR COMPLETE INFO. PLEASE PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING
DETAILS NOW FOR VERIFICATION SO THAT WE CAN FORWARD FURTHER DETAILS.
(1)FIRST NAME:.........(2)LAST NAME:.........(3)POSTAL ADDRESS:......../
(4)DIRECT MOBILE NUMBER:......THANKS.
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This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.
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Anti-fraud resources:
