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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:
- 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:
- "swift card payment center" (this phrase is often used in the ATM card payment scam)
- "required fee " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- 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.
- smithcalvin300@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "REV.SMITH CALVIN" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <scalvin71@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 3 May 2014 17:20:38 +0100
Subject: Your Genuine Payment.
Attention:
Your Name And Your Contact Details Was Given To This Office In Respect Of Your Total inherited/Contract Sum Owed To You Which You Have Failed To Claim Because Of Either Non-Compliance Of Official Processes Or Because Of Your Unbelief Of
The Reality Of Your Genuine Payment.
We Wish To Bring To You The Solution To This Problem. Right Now We Have Arranged Your Payment Through Our Swift Card Payment Centers, That Is The Latest Instruction From Economic Community Of West African States (ECO WAS) This Card Center Will Send To You An ATM DEBIT Card Which You Will Use To Withdraw Your Money In Any ATM Machine In Any Part Of The World, So If You Like To Receive Your Fund In This Way, Please Let Us Know By Contacting Us Back Through E-mail Address below And Also Send The Following Information As Listed Below.
Contact E-mail Address:smithcalvin300@yahoo.com
1. Full Name
2. Phone And cellphone
3. Address Were You Want Them To Send The ATM Card To
(P.O Box Not Acceptable)
4. Your Age And Current Occupation
5. Attach Copy Of Your Identification
We Have Been Mandated By The ECOWAS Parliament To Issue Out $7.5Million USD in your favor This fiscal year 2014. Also For Your Information, You Have To Stop Any Further Communication With Any Other Person (S) Or Office(S) To
Avoid Any Hitches In Receiving Your Payment.
Note That Because Of Impostors, We Hereby Issued You Our Code Of Conduct, Which Is (ATM-202) So You Have To Indicate This Code When Contacting The Card Center By Using It As Your Subject. Please be informed that it will cost you $75.00 fee for shipment of the card to your doorstep.
AS SOON AS I CONFIRM THE REQUIRED INFORMATION I WILL DIRECT YOU ON HOW YOU ARE
GOING TO SEND THE REQUIRED FEE FOR IMMEDIATE DISPATCH OF YOUR ATM
PAYMENT:
Thank You.
Rev. Smith calvin.
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Anti-fraud resources: