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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:
- 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:
- "necessary legal documents" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "Barr. George Kambala." <georgekambala100@gmail.com>
Reply-To: georgekambala1978@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2015 23:18:43 +0000
Subject: I NEED YOUR URGENT RESPONSE.
Hello.
This is George Kambala, I contacted you because I have business proposal worth $5.6M originated from balance of contract payment to my late client, I contact you because I retain 100% right to nominate beneficiary to the fund because I have privileged to be on possession of all relevant document that represents the fund.
I have all the necessary legal documents that will be used to back up any claim we will make. All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us see this project through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement, so if you are interested and sincere we can proceed further with this transaction which is hundred percent risk free, please do let me know immediately so that I can give you comprehensive details on how we proceed.
Get back to me so that I can give you more details.
Thanks & best
Yours Truly
George Kambala.
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Anti-fraud resources: