|
|
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 message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Vincent Hong." <vincenthong2010@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 03:25:50 -1200
Subject: success of this transaction.
Dear Partner,
How are you doing? I hope all is well with you and your
family? I have not heard from you after my last
correspondence, your unusual silence has gotten me really
bothered because it is a threat to the success of this
transaction. Please update me on the present position of
things so that we may proceed positively. I await your
response in this regard.
Sincerely,
Vincent Hong.
|
Anti-fraud resources: