|
|
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:
- "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found 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: <officefiles1@worldbank1476.onmicrosoft.com>
Reply-To: <info.fedexdeivery@mail.bg>
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2013 03:22:16 +0530
Subject: CONTACT FEDEX FOR YOUR $2.5M USD ATM MASTER CARD DELIVERY.
Dear, We are hereby officially notifying you about the present arrangement =
to settled your outstanding compensation/inheritance funds worth of $2.5M U=
SD through MASTER CARD, this arrangement was Initiated/constituted by the W=
orld Bank and you are advised to Contact FedEx Express with your details wh=
ere they will effect the delivery of the master card to you as soon as poss=
ible. Contact FedEx ExpressVia Email:( info.fedexdeivery@mail.bg)with the b=
elow informations.the only money to pay them is their shipping fee only, ki=
ndly update this office as soon as you have received your ATM parcle. Your =
Full Name: Your Gender: Your Age: Your Telephone number: Your Residence Add=
ress: Your Occupation: Your Country/State Nationality : Scan ID/Passport : =
Thank you. Mrs Ellena Johnson(W.B)
---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protec=
tion is active.
http://www.avast.com
|
Anti-fraud resources: