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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:
- "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "million united states 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 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)
- ",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)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mrs Gbagbo <mrsgbagbo@yahoo.fr>
Reply-To: Mrs Gbagbo <mrs.gbagbo37@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2013 20:21:32 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Hello Dear,
Hello Dear,
My name is Mrs Simone Gbagbo the wife of Laurent Gbagbo. the president of Cote d'Ivoire. I decided to contact you because of the prevailing financial report of war in our country Cote d'Ivoire in Abidjan which have kill many people in our country and the intense nature of politics in Africa.
This is to inform you that i realized some reasonable amount of money from various deals that I successfully executed. Well i secretly put in a box the sum of $7,000,000 million US dollars (Seven million United states dollars) and deposit it in a security company abroad.
I am contacting you because I want you to help me in securing the money for the future of my children. I hope to trust you as who will not sit on this money when you claim it. i will give you 25% of the total money for your assistance. if you are willing to help me.
All you need to do now is to send to me:
1. Name in full:.
2. Address:......
3. Nationality:..
4. Age/Sex :.....
5. Occupation:...
6. Phone/Cell:....
7. Country:......
Note: The security company does not know the real contents of the box, the content was declared to be Sensitive Photographic Film Materials. If you are interested please reply mefor more details.
Best Regards,
Mrs.Simone Gbogbo
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Anti-fraud resources: