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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:

Fraud email example:

From: "Postbank Internetbankieren" (may be fake)
Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:00:58 +0100
Subject: Postbank Internetbankieren Verificatie Update

ING - Ownership Verification
ING *



Dear Sir/Madam,

Geachte Mijn Postbank gebruiker,

Onlangs heeft ons beveiligingssysteem een aantal buitenlandse inlog pogingen geconstateerd. Alle pogingen voortvloeiend uit deze acties zijn mislukt. Het is onze plicht om ervoor te zorgen dat uw online gebruik van uw Mijn Postbank rekening veilig is.

Het heeft ons verdacht gemaakt dat uw Mijn Postbank rekening informatie door malafide praktijken van het internet is gehaald, dit heet 'phising'.

Wij verzekeren u dat alle ongeautoriseerde overschrijvingen vergoed worden. Wij raden u aan om alle beveiligingsupdates van het Beveiligings-Team te gebruiken.Voor restrictie van buitenlandse I.P. adressen tot uw online Mijn Postbank rekening, raden wij u ten strengste aan, om uw I.P. adres te registreren als primair I.P. adres door de volgende link te volgen. Postbank Online test drive.

ING Bank Plc
Security Advisor
ING Bank PLC.

Anti-fraud resources: