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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.
- 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: "DR. JOHN MIKE." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <customerserviceo201057@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 04:59:22 -0700
Subject: FROM INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND ( I M F )
ATTN.BENEFICIARY,
THIS IS THE OFFICE OF THE INTERNTIONAL MONETARY FUND LONDON,WE THE IMF RECEIVED A SIGNAL OF ALL YOUR VICTIMS FROM THE SCAMMERS IN AFRICA AND ALSO YOUR PAST LOST OF HUGE AMOUNT FOR PAST YEARS 1999 THERE ABOUT .
AFTER GOING THROUGH YOUR FILE WE HAVE TO HAND OVER YOUR FILE TO THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT THAT ARE COMPENSATING ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE FALLEN VICTIM IN AFRICA .
THEREFORE THE REPORT WE GOT FROM THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT IS THAT YOU ARE TO BE COMPENSATE WITH THE AMOUNT OF 3.8MILLION EUROS,THOUGH THAT YOU MAY HAVE SPENT MORE THAN THAT BUT WITH ALL DUE RESPECT WE ARE APOLOGISING YOU TO KINDLY ACCEPT THIS OFFER AS PART OF THE GOVERNMENT COMPENSATION FOR YOUR LOST MONEY.
YOU ARE TO CONFIRM TO US YOUR YOUR BANK INFORMATION.
WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION;
* YOUR FULL NAME:-------------------------------------------
* DELIVERY ADDRESS:----------------------------------------
* SEX:----------------------------------------------------------------
* AGE:----------------------------------------------------------------
* OCCUPATION:---------------------------------------------------
* PHONE NUMBER:-----------------------------------------------
* COUNTRY:---------------------------------------------------------
* YOUR BANK INFORMATION:----------------------------------------------
AWAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU.
DR. JOHN MIKE.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (IMF)
INTERNTIONAL MONETARY FUND
LONDON.TEL / +447324444454.
15 Lombard Street London, EC3P 3BS United Kingdom
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Anti-fraud resources: