|
|
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:
- "to your nominated bank account" (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)
- "you are advise to" (this email uses bad English)
- "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.
Fraud email example:
From: "PRESIDENCY" <bbnnm.kliiii@aol.co.uk>
Reply-To: goodluck_jonathan.president@presidency.com
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 17:23:38 +0200
Subject: LETTER OF APOLOGY FROM DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA.
- This mail is in HTML. Some elements may be ommited in plain text. -
THE PRESIDENCY FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
COMMITTEE ON CONTRACT PAYMENT REVIEW PANEL
PRESIDENTIAL COMPLEX BUILDING
ASO-ROCK, ABUJA
Our Ref: FGN/PRE/VP/XNX/014/15
ATTN: BENEFICIARY:
PAYMENT ORDER!!!
I WAS SURPRISED THAT YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR FUND UP TILL TODAY. I WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR FUND WILL BE TRANSFER TO YOUR NOMINATED BANK ACCOUNT WITHIN 72 HOURS.
I AM THE PRESIDENT OF FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, I BELIEVE YOUR PAYMENT WILL BE CONCLUDED IMMEDIATELY I HEAR FROM YOUR APPOINTED REPRESENTATIVE AND YOU ARE ADVISE TO RECONFIRM YOUR DETAILS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER IMMEDIATELY.
BASED ON MY INVESTIGATION I NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE WASTED A LOT OF MONEY IN REGARDS TO THIS TRANSFER. I AM ADVISING YOU TO STOP ANY COMMUNICATION WITH ANY PERSON UNTIL YOU RECEIVE THIS FUND FROM MY OFFICE.
THIS OFFICE IS GIVEN YOU 100% GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR FUND WITHIN 72 HOURS AS SOON AS YOU COMPLY WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN TO YOU. CONGRATULATION IN ADVANCE ONCE MORE.REMEMBER THIS TRANSFER IS CONFIDENTIAL, DUE TO A LOT OF IMPERSONATORS, YOU ARE HOWEVER STRONGLY ADVICE IN YOUR OWN INTEREST TO STOP ANY COMMUNICATION WITH ANY OFFICE IF YOU NEED MY POWER TO HAVE YOUR FUND REMITTED TO YOU AS STATED ABOVE.
NOTE:YOU ARE ALSO ADVISE TO SEND TO US ALL INFORMATION OF ANY PERSON YOU HAVE SENT MONEY SO THAT WE CAN RECOVER THE MONEY AND SEND IT BACK TO YOU.
YOURS SINCERELY
DR.GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN
PRESIDENT FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
|
Anti-fraud resources:
