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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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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:
- 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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Barclays Bank PLC." <revjohnokafor@yahoo.com.ph>
Reply-To: jamestony_00000@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:54:50 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: From the Desk of Mr. James Tony
>From the Desk of Mr. James Tony
Account & Exchange Dept
Barclays Bank PLC.
1 Churchill Place, London,
E14 5HP
United Kingdom.
YOUR FUND RELEASE ORDER RECEIVED FROM (IMF) INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (LONDON UNITED KINGDOM)
OUR BANK HAS BEEN EMPOWERED BY IMF TO RELEASE OVER 3 FOREIGN BENEFICIARIES FUND WHICH YOUR NAME WAS AMONG THE SAID BENEFICIARIES.
THE Barclays Bank PLC LONDON REQUESTED FOR YOUR URGENT ATTENTION ON THIS REGARDS. COULD YOU PLEASE SEND US YOUR FULL COMPLETE DETAILS BELOW:
NAME:
HOME ADDRESS:
DIRECT PHONE:
YOUR AGE:
YOUR PROFESSION:
NATIONALITY:
THEN, GIVE US MODALITIES, MEANING THE MODE OF PAYMENT THAT YOU WILL WISH TO RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT BANK-BANK
We Expect your Swift Co-operation
For: Barclays Bank PLC.
Mr. James Tony
Account & Exchange Dept.
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Anti-fraud resources: