|
|
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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Payment Notification" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <frankaku009@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 2011 22:40:31 -0800
Subject: Payment Notice
This is to inform you that an irrevocable directive stating that all funds being owed to foreign Beneficiaries be released immediately.
I have been mandated to oversee the release of these funds to beneficiaries and this email was among beneficiaries being owed the sum of US$15.5 Million. If you are the owner of this email address,you have to acknowledge the receipt of this notification by confirming that you are willing and ready to receive your funds so that we can initiate the process of releasing your funds to you.
Regards,
Frank Aku
*************************************************************************************************
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This email (and any attachment) is confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is meant only for the intended recipient(s), and must not be used, disclosed, copied or re-transmitted in any form (whether amended or otherwise) without our prior knowledge and consent.
|
Anti-fraud resources:
