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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:
- ",500,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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 advice to " (this email uses bad English)
- "cotonou" (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: "Mr.James Williams" <Williams@woody.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: "Mr.James Williams" <atmcustomer@outlook.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2015 08:16:40 +0900 (JST)
Subject: good day
ATTENTION: BENEFICIARY,
WE HERE BY NOTIFYING YOU THAT UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA (UBABANK) HAVE BEEN MANDATED TO ISSUE OUT YOUR PAYMENT Of $6,500,000.00 USD THROUGH ATM CARD. YOU HAVE TO STOP FURTHER COMMUNICATION WITH ANYOTHER PERSON(S) OR OFFICE(S) OR MINISTRY OF FINANCE AFRICA TO AVOID HITCHES IN RECEIVING YOUR ATM CARD PAYMENT.
ATM CARD NUMBER: 4577 9526 8818 3584 HAS BEEN ALLOCATED IN YOUR FAVOR; YOUR PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER IS 2482. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA MANAGER HAS CONFIRMED AUTOMATION OF YOUR SWIFT PAYMENT THROUGH AN ELECTRONIC ATM CARD PAYMENT WHICH YOU WILL USE TO WITHDRAW YOUR MONEY IN ANY ATM MACHINE IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD.
THE MAXIMUM DAILY WITHDRAWAL IS $5,000USD PER DAY, A TOTAL OF $5,000USD AT A TIME. NOW YOU ARE ADVICE TO CONTACT Mr.James Williams WHO IS THE FOREIGN PAYMENT DIRECTOR WITH THE INFORMATIONS BELOW IN ORDER TO RELEASE YOUR ATM CARD PAYMENT TO YOU.
YOUR FULL NAME:.......................
HOME ADDRESS:....................
COUNTRY:.........................
OCCUPATION:.......................
TELEPHONE NUMBER:.................
AGE:.............................
Sex:..............................
BEST REGARD
Mr.James Williams
HEAD OF ATM DEPT
ATM PAYMENT CENTRE
ADDRESS: 12/1 Midombo Expway Cotonou-Benin
UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA BENIN REPUBLIC
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