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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "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)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "marmabo@ymail.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- 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.
- mncvc@rocketmail.com (Rocketmail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Mary Kaka <mmrarkak@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 21:47:22 -0400
Subject: Hi
I am Mrs. Mary Kaka from Congo DRC, the wife of Brigadier Musa Kaka.
My late husband was in charge of arms purchasing for SUDAN armed forces and
he generated this money in the course of purchasing arms for SUDAN armed
forces.
Before my husband death,he deposited the sum of US$7 MILLION (Seven Million
United States Dollars) into an account in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and I
assure you that no body knows about this money except me.
Please assist me to transfer this money for investment purposes. I am
living in South Africa as political asylum seekers (Refugee) and the
financial laws of South Africa does not allow me to open an account or
travel. I am prepared to offer you 30% of the total money while 5% will be
set aside for local and international expenses incurred during the course
of this transaction. You will not spend any money and this transaction is
100% risk free, as I do not want any thing to happen to this money. Reply
Email: mncvc@rocketmail.com marmabo@ymail.com
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Anti-fraud resources: