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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- "abuja" (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.
- 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.
- jonathanpresidentgoodluck775@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "DR. GOODLUCK, EBELE JONATHAN." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jonathanpresidentgoodluck775@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 15:12:21 -0400
Subject: OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY!!
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY
ASO - ROCK VILLA, GARKI, ABUJA - NIGERIA
OUR REF:.......................... ...........PRES/PEND/PMT/ATM/JULY/2014
YOUR REF:.......................... ...PMT REF CODE: 92901
FROM THE DESK OF DR. GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN
PRESIDENT & GENERAL COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF
THE NIGERIA ARMED FORCES FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.
Email:- jonathanpresidentgoodluck775@gmail.com
OFFICE TEL: +234 8141496
MOBILE TEL: +234 8125138993
Our Ref: FGN /SNT/CBN
Dear Beneficiary,
THIS IS THE LAST REMINDER TO ALL BENEFICIARIES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN PAID THEIR CONTRACT/INHERITANCE FEES.
This is to officially inform you that(ATM VISA Card Number; 4568 8930 5534
5015) has been accredited on your favor.Your Personal Identification
Number is 822.The ATM VISA Card Value is $5.2 MILLION USD. Please get
back to me on (jonathanpresidentgoodluck775@gmail.com) with the follow details
below for processing.
Full Name:*
Delivery Address:*
Sex:*
Age:*
Occupation:*
Phone Number:*
Country:*
DR. GOODLUCK, EBELE JONATHAN.
Email: jonathanpresidentgoodluck775@gmail.com
PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
GENERAL COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE NIGERIA ARMED FORCES.
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Anti-fraud resources: