|
|
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:
- "paul@chaklos.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: 'SMITH LAW'<Smithlegalgroup@un.org>
Reply-To: Smithlegal.group@yandex.com
Date: 10 May 2020 23:13:11 +0000
Subject: paul@chaklos.com,KINDLY GET BACK TO ME ASAP!!!
Hello paul@chaklos.com,
I am a Lawyer by profession and my name is Mark Smith. I am
contacting you because you share the same last name with a
deceased client of mine who died few years ago. He left behind a
lot of bank deposits with no will to mention a next of kin. I
have been in recent communication with the banks where he has
these deposits and they have made it abundantly clear that I
should provide any of his relatives to come forward and claim his
money.
It is my plan therefore to present you as a relative to my late
client so that his deposit can be transferred to you legally by
virtue of the fact that you share the same last name and I can
easily present you as his relative. I will make this presentation
possible as it is my sole responsibility as the legal
Administrator and I will guide you all the way until his funds
are released to you. We shall be sharing the proceed of this
claim equally if you accept to work with me. I will share more
details with you upon your positive response to my email. I hope
to hear from you soon.
Best Wishes,
Bar.Mark Smith
Principal Partner
|
Anti-fraud resources:
