|
|
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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million 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)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Alex King <tog310@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2017 09:52:36 +0100
Subject: HELLO MY DEAR
From:Mr. Alex King
Dear sir
Permit me to introduce my good self. My name is Mr. Alex King. I work
with the Eco Bank Plc as an accountant foreign operation department.
In the discharge of my duty, I stumbled on this domiciliary account
that has remained dormant for three years now with fifteen million
dollars ($15m) in it. I contacted my director and we sent out staff
for inquiries and discovered that the account holder died in
Auto-Crash without leaving any next of kin to inherit this fund.
I am writing you so that we can work with you to remit the money into
your account as the next of kin. it is simple process which will take
a short while to process. Outside this, the bank management will
confiscate the money. If I hear from you, I will tell you all you need
to know about the money.
Thanks for your co-operation.
Regards
Mr.Alex King
|
Anti-fraud resources:
