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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)
- "swift card payment center" (this phrase is often used in the ATM card payment scam)
- "required fee " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "(ecowas)" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: "GTBank Plc ATM Master Card""" <info@gtbplc.com>
Reply-To: amosadamu35@gtb-bplc.com
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:21:15 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Re:Immediate ATM DEBIT Cash Card Payment Notification
>From the desk of:
DR AMOS ADAMU
International Settlement Dept.
Guarantee Trust Bank plc
E-MAIL: amosadamu35@gtb-bplc.com
PHONE: +234 806 895 6217
ATTENTION ORDERING BENEFICIARY
Your Name And Your Contact Details Was Given To This Office In Respect Of
Your Total lnherited/Contract Sum Owed To You Which You Have Failed To
Claim Because Of Either Non-Compliance Of Official Processes Or Because Of
Your Unbelief Of The Reality Of Your Genuine Payment.
We Wish To Bring To You The Solution To This Problem. Right Now We Have
Arranged Your Payment Through Our Swift Card Payment Centers, That Is
The Latest Instruction From Economic Community Of West African States
(ECOWAS) This Card Center Will Send To You An ATM DEBIT Card Which You
Will Use To Withdraw Your Money In Any ATM Machine In Any Part Of The
World, So If You Like To Receive Your Fund In This Way, Please Let Us
Know By Contacting Us Back And Also Send The Following Information As
Listed Below to our E-MAIL: amosadamu35@gtb-bplc.com
1. Full Name
2. Phone And Fax Number
3. Address Were You Want Them To Send The ATM Card To
(P.O Box Not Acceptable)
4. Your Age And Current Occupation
5. Attach Copy Of Your Identification
We Have Been Mandated By The ECOWAS Parliament To Issue Out $2.5m usd in
your favour This fiscal year 2010. Also For Your Information, You
Have To Stop Any Further Communication With Any Other Person (S) Or
Office(S) To Avoid Any Hitches In Receiving Your Payment.
Note That Because Of Impostors, We Hereby Issued You Our Code Of Conduct,
Which Is (ATM-202) So You Have To Indicate This Code When Contacting The
Card Center By Using It As Your Subject. It will cost you only $250 for
shipment of the card to your doorstep.
=================================================
AS SOON AS I CONFIRM THE REQUIRED INFORMATION I WILL DIRECT YOU ON HOW
YOU ARE GOING TO SEND THE REQUIRED FEE FOR IMMEDIATE DESPATCH OF YOUR ATM
PAYMENT
================================================
DR AMOS ADAMU
lnternational Settlement Dept.
GTbank Plc
all details should be forwarded to amosadamu35@gtb-bplc.com only.
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