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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "loan agreement" (Beware of fake loan offers. Real lenders would not normally use free webmail addresses such as Yahoo, nor would they lend to individuals or small businesses in a different country from where they are based. Beware of mobile phones or redirector numbers!)
- "raymondbrooksloaninvestment@gmail.com" (This email address looks like addresses used in fake loan scams. Be suspicious of any lender who uses a free webmail address or who is based in different country from yourself.)
- 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.
- 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.
- raymondbrooksloaninvestment@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: INFO@LOAN.COM
Reply-To: raymondbrooksloaninvestment@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:43:55 -0400
Subject:
Dear Sir/Madam,.
Raymond Brooks Loan Investment Ltd,give`s out loan to business people and
individuals for just 1% interest rate.We give out local and international
loans to any body all over the world.We give out loans via account
transfer to what ever country you are.
We are not a bank and we do not require much documents.If you are
interested in getting a loan from our company,contact us with the
following detail
===========================================================
Name In Full:______________________
Gender:____________________________
Contact Address:___________________
Date of Birth:_____________________
Amount Needed as Loan:_____________
Loan Duration:_____________________
Occupation::_______________________
Monthly Income:____________________
Valid Cell Number__________________
============================================================
In acknowledgment to these details, I will send you a well calculated
Terms and Condition which will include the Loan agreement.
FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT:
Mr.Raymond J. Brooks
Chief Executive Officer.
Raymond Brooks Loan Investment Limited.
Tel:+(44) (0) 704-5783-777
E-Mail: raymondbrooksloaninvestment@gmail.com
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