|
|
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:
- 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:
- "million united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Dome Phanthuna" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <domephanthuna@yahoo.co.th>
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2014 23:26:07 +0700
Subject: PAYMENT BY BANK DRAFT.
Dear beneficiary,
Your part payment entitlement of two million united states dollars has been officially approved after all the satisfactory evidence of proof shown in your payment file, and in pursuance of our vision of excellence, The financial intelligence unit (FIU) through their Bangkok office approved a part payment to you since our records has shown the authenticity of your claim for these funds and our international intelligent payment monitoring network also confirms that your payment have been held up by a few corrupt officials who has been demanding numerous fees from you to conclude this transaction.
Based on the above, the part payment comes to you with a favorable condition of no upfront payment in advance except payment of 430 USD to enable us dispatch the hard copy of the draft to enable your bank discount the funds and credit your account providing you with the final credit records confirming the funds in your account.
Kindly provide us with your telephone number, address and your banks direct mailing address to enable us dispatch the draft as soon as we have the required fee.
Thanks for your anticipated corporation.
Mr. Dome Phanthuna
|
Anti-fraud resources:
