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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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Kelly Anderson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrkellyanderson001@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 04:14:53 -0700
Subject: Your Response Is Needed ASAP
Mr.Kelly Anderson
United Nations Delivery Services
New York,USA
We have just found out that your US$5.5 Million which was approved for release a long while ago has still not been released to you. We therefore want to use this medium to apologize for any inconvenience the delay in releasing the funds may have caused you and your family.
Consequently, approval has been issued for the funds to be irrevocably forwarded to you this week. In other to expedite action and to forestall any form of delay, you are expected to provide the following information immediately
Your Name as in: Surname/Middle Name/Other Name
Residential Address:
Contact Telephone /Cell Numbers:
Age/ Occupation:
This number must be a working number and a number where you can be reached easily. You will be called on the number by the delivery officer before the funds is handed over to you. So, its important that you provide a number that does not go straight to answering machine.
If your number is on voice-mail, remove it immediately so the officer can speak to you. Your immediate compliance will facilitate the quick delivery of the funds to you.
Regards
Mr.Kelly Anderson
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Anti-fraud resources:
