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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:
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- "accredited attorney" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned 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: Nkuku Nnekwu <Skybhelp@skycable.com>
Reply-To: p4b3n32@yeah.net
Date: Sun, 07 Jun 2015 14:26:26 -0500
Subject: Your ATM Debit Card
Dear Beneficiary,
Your full Payment of $ 2.5 M from United Bank Benin has been Released and
Approved for onward transfer to you Via an ATM.
You should contact the accredited Attorney with this financial house to
send you the card and Pin number which you will use to activate of your
card. You should reconfirm this information;
Your Full Name*
Your Telephone*
Your Address*
Your City*
Your Country*
You should forward this information to the Attorney through his address:
Perry Watson
Avenue Jean Paul I BP 325- Cotonou
Email: p4b3n32@yeah.net
Tel + 229-6129-7557.
Best Regards.
Mrs. Nkuku Nnekwu.
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Anti-fraud resources: