|
|
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:
- "00,000.00" (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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Marylyn.S.M. Cooper" <office487----2015@att.net>
Reply-To: mrs_rsoe2010@yahoo.cn
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 05:42:21 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Transaction Notification Service
My Dear
RE:INSTRUCTION TO CREDIT YOUR ACCOUNT WITH THE SUM OF US$2,200,000.00
We at this bank wishes to congratulate and inform you that after thorough review and evaluation of your Inheritance/Lottery/Contract funds in conjunction with the World Bank Auditor General and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment reports, your payment file was forwarded to us for immediate transfer of the above quoted amount.
The reports given to us shows that you have been going through hard times by paying a lot of money to see to the release of your funds.We therefore advice that you stop further communication with any correspondence outside this office since you do not have to pay any money or fee to receive your Inheritance/Contract funds as you have met up with the whole funds transfer requirements.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Marylyn.S.M. Cooper
|
Anti-fraud resources:
