|
|
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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million united state 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)
- "utmost confidentiality" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "diplomatic delivery" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +447042067111 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: "MS. JOSEPHINE MATHEW" <msn_acccount_allert@outlook.com>
Reply-To: <josephinemmmat@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 14:13:50 +0000
Subject: PRIVATE MAIL
Dear friend,
Good day, without taking much of your time i will
like you to act as a beneficiary of a reasonable amount of funds Which
is own by a late Chines Billionaire (customer) Who died few months back
in France in an Helicopter along with his 12 year old son. The said
money is in the sum of Twenty Five Million United State Dollars. I have
in possession all the documents of the funds but will like you to
kindly confirm to me if you will be able to act as the beneficiary of
the funds. I will take responsibility of acquiring the documents that
will be transferred into your name and then proceed with the wire
transfer of the Funds into your account within three to five working
days. But kindly note that it might be optional because most likely if
am able to secure a viable international registered diplomatic delivery
company like DHL, FEDEX and UPS company that may be willing to make
delivery with a strong insurance guarantee base, we may decide to use
it if accepted by you.
Kindly note that this is a deal and has to be kept in utmost
confidentiality because as a staff of the bank i stand the chance of
losing my job within seconds if you disclose this information to anyone
and more also my bosses will end up sharing the funds within them
because it has happen in several occasion which am aware of and i don’t
want to let this pass bye. The funds will not be disclose to the
authority of the bank either they will share it within them self by
assigning someone or getting someone that will act the same way that am
proposing for your details as a beneficiary.
Thank you for your anticipated corporation. And please send me your full details.
Ms. Josephine Mathew
BARCLAYS BANK, ENGLAND
TEL: +447042067111 (Direct Line)
|
Anti-fraud resources:
