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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:
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "mrshelenmichael@qq.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a "New Partner from Paraguay" scam.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: "Nicholson." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <charlesnicholson@datafull.com>, charlesnicholson@datafull.com
Date: Thu, 22 May 2014 20:23:57 -0400
Subject: HELLO
I am happy to inform you about my success in getting those f u n d s t r a n s f e r r e d under Cooperation of a new partner from Dominican Republic. Presently I'm in Dominican Republic for investment projects with my own share of the total s u m meanwhile, I didn't forget your past efforts and attempts to assist me in t r a n s f e r r i n g those f u n d s despite that it failed us somehow. Now contact my Attorney in Africa Nigeria, her name is Barrister. Helen Michael.
mrshelenmichael@qq.com
Ask her to send you the total cash check of $850,000 dollars
Best Regards,
Mr. Charles Nicholson.
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Anti-fraud resources: