|
|
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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "million us dollars" (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)
- "amsterdam holland" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
- They don't notify winners by email.
- You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
- They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
- They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
- They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
- They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
- They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- agentstevenfisher201@excite.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: NATE PERKINS <nateperkins01@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:00:52 +0000
Subject: FELICITATION!!! OUR ESTEEMED WINNER
EURO AFRO ASIA SWEEPSTAKES LOTTERY INTERNATIONALAN AFFILIATE OF FUNDMONEY INTERNATIONALIPP AWARD DEPT,580 N.TENTH STREET,SACRAMENTO,CA 85914 ARENA COMPLEX,KM 18,ROUTE DE RUFISQUE AMSTERDAM,NETHERLANDS. WINNING NOTIFICATION.
We happily announce to you the draw of the Euro - AfroAsian Sweepstake Lottery International programs held on the 24th June, 2007,in Amsterdam Holland. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number:6947443465 L25 which subsequently won you the lottery in the 3rd category.You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of $1.5 Million us Dollars in cheque.Please ourFiduciary agent in Cairo Egypt, will immediately commence the processing of your winning prize to facilitate the release of your cheque to you as soon as you contact him with the followings details below: 1. FULL NAMES :2. DATE OF BIRTH:3. SEX:4. MARITAL STATUS:5.CONTACT ADDRESS:6.TELEPHONE NUMBER:7.OCCUPATION:8.TOTAL AMOUNT WON:9.COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE:10.COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Fiduciary agent:Steven Fisher Email:agentstevenfisher201@excite.com
Sincerely,Mr.Nate PerkinsOnline Cordinator.
_________________________________________________________________
Make every IM count. Download Windows Live Messenger and join the i’m Initiative now. It’s free.
http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=TAGWL_June07
Anti-fraud resources:
