|
|
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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "you will be entitled to 30%" (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)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.John Gatuso" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jgatu01@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 1 May 2018 10:22:24 -0700
Subject: Dear Sir/Madam,
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a Financial auditor and there is abandoned fund left in our Financial firm for 35 calendar years now. The account has been dormant and non operational. If you stand as my representative in receiving the fund, I intend to invest this fund into your housing projects.
On smooth conclusion of this transaction, you will be entitled to 30% of the total sum as gratification while the remaining 70% of $5.8 Million is for me and my colleagues. This project is 100% risk free.
Important notice: You must fly to Paris France for the signing of all the needed forms inside our firm before the $6.4 Million will be transferred to your designated bank account. Kindly get back to me for further details.
Sincerely,
Mr.John Gatuso
|
Anti-fraud resources:
