|
|
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:
- The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "irish lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "irishboardfax@9.cn" (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.
- 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.
- +447035902188 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: "ilottery Board2010" <irishboardupdate@live.com>
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:11:53 -0430
Subject:
YAHOO & MSN MICROSOFT WINDOWS
Dear Winner, We are Pleased to inform you that you have
won (£1,350,000.00 GBP.) by Msn/Yahoo in conjunction with
the MICROSOFT WINDOWS. You are an active user among the
millions that subscribed to the various Irish Lottery
users, we only select five people every year as our
winners, through electronic balloting System without any
application. Please Fill in the details below to contact
the Event Manager.
Full Name:....
Nationality.....
Telephone Number:.
Sex:....
Occupation:...
Age:................
Ref number....WL/7662/5AQ
Mrs. Monica Dickson
Email:irishboardfax@9.cn
Tel: +447035902188
|
Anti-fraud resources:
