|
|
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:
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "hundred thousand great british pounds" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "googleanniversary@rcweb.net" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- 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 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.
- +447035951484 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: "Google 10th Anniversary Awards Center" <info@googleawaeds.com>
Reply-To: googleanniversary@rcweb.net
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 15:31:55 -0500
Subject:
Google 10th Anniversary Awards Center
London W1U 4RY, United Kingdom.
We are pleased to inform you that your email address has won an
Awardin the Google 10th Years Anniversary Awards as organized held
this year in London,United Kingdom.There was a randomly selection of
15 email addresses through a computer ballot system to receive an
award of Five Hundred Thousand Great British Pounds (500,000.00
Pounds)each as a part of their non-profit philanthropic wing
googlepromotion.
This awards MUST be claimed by the email owner ONLY,not later than
one week from the day of notification and your complete personal
information as requested below with your Award Reference Code andFile
Number to the verification department to enable them processyour
claim;
Award Reference code: GOOGLE568A2010/ File number: G245.
********************************************************
Mr.Jacob Peterson
E-mail: googleanniversary@rcweb.net
Phone: +447035951484
******************************************************
Claims Requirements:
1. Full name:
2. Home Address:
3. Age:
4. Sex:
5. Telephone/Fax:
6. Occupation:
7. Country Of Residence:
8. Nationality:
9. Amount Won:
10. Award Reference code/File number:code:
With these information your claims agent shall process your funds and
your cash prize shall be delivered within 5 days to you in your
country.
Yours Faithfully
Sincerely Yours,
Google Management
|
Anti-fraud resources:
