|
|
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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
- jkwame20@mail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: JOHN KWAME <jkwame20@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: jkwame21@hotmail.com
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2010 08:10:48 +0100
Subject: PLEASE READ AND REPLY
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am John Kwame, a local Cocoa and Gold Dust Merchant here in
Accra Ghana.
I got your contact from the business online directory. Your
recommendation as a
trusted and reliable business partner motivated me to solicit your partnership
in business investment. I am contacting you based on my search for a reliable
partner to assist me on the areas of profitable investments in your country. I
am in the position of huge sums of money that will be moved to you immediately
you decided to partner with me. Let me know if you are interested to work with
me. I will provide you with further details after hearing from you.
Reply to my
personal email: jkwame20@mail.com. Thank you
Regards,
John Kwame
|
Anti-fraud resources:
