|
|
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:
- "the diplomat " ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "infodeskafmu@firemail.de" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Ms.Gloria F.McKenzie" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <infodeskafmu@firemail.de>
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 07:06:44 +0100
Subject: Did you receive our previous email???
For your urgent attention:
The diplomat that is bringing your winning money is already in USA,he needs to contact you to arrange on how to meet and deliver it to you.
We were obliged to send your winning money through this medium to avoid the usual expenses and hassles associated with normal international bank transfer.
African telecom giant MTN holds draw once annually as part of their promo by randomly picking some email ids and your email were among the 7 that won this year’s bonus draw that took place recently; you are to receive $2.5M. This is not lottery but promo bonus which they conduct to advertise their company. They do it once a year.
Reconfirm the following data urgently. He will contact you.
Your full names:
Your current address:
Your cell phone number:
Sex:
Occupation:
His name is Prince Wilson Dara
Reply to: infodeskafmu@firemail.de
Sincerely
Ms. Grace McKenzie
Secretary
|
Anti-fraud resources:
