|
|
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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Houmam Reed" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <houmamreed@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2016 14:37:47 -0800
Subject: PRIVATE AND URGENT
Greetings Dear
My heart is full of tears as I write this email to you because of the
civil war in our country Syria. My father was a great man before this
war began but he died as a result of cruelty from this war.He was a
very rich man who dealt in oil business(hydrocarbon) round the globe.
He left some good money in two bank accounts outside Syria before he
was killed in Damascus, I will not be able to retrieve and return the
money to Syria because I want to start up a new life outside Syria(I
am in hiding in London, united kingdom).
I was my father's business development manager before things went
awry. He thought me some things about business portfolio management
which I am not prepared to share with anyone unless I am sure of that
person. I was coached by a Jewish Economist. Do you know how to leave
a legacy and pass on the benefits to future generations? It is very
important for us to learn, understand, and master how to effectively
allocate our resources, which are always limited. There are things I
need to discuss with you. We use the approach that will yield the
desired result at the lowest cost.
I need you to receive this money and we both can agree on good
business in your country. The total fund is $17.5 Million(split in two
and deposited in two different banks). Let me know if you can do this
for me. Please no guess work or probabilities. I want to do practical
things that will yield me positive results in the shortest possible
time.
I await your response.
Experience Peace,
Houmam Reed
Al-Kayyali street.
Jdaydeh area
Aleppo - Syria
|
Anti-fraud resources:
