|
|
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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "monrovia" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "liberia" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
- 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.
- sulemanbello1960@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "etemeubong@gmail.com" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <solomonadaka@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 08:25:51 +0100
Subject: Dear Sir/Madam
From: Mr Suleman Bello
Development And Investment Bank
Monrovia Liberia
Email: sulemanbello1960@gmail.com
Dear Sir/Madam
MY NAME IS Suleman Bello,I WORK WITH LIBERIAN DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT BANK HERE IN MONROVIA LIBERIA IN WEST AFRICAN REGION.I AM THE PERSONAL ACCOUNT OFFICER TO LATE PATRICK SAWYER WHO DIED IN LAGOS NIGERIA ON EBOLA DISEASE IN JULY THIS YEAR.I AM CONTACTING YOU IF YOU WILL RECEIVE HIS FUND WHICH IS IN OUR BANK SO THAT WE CAN SHARE IT FOR OUR PERSONAL USE SINCE HE DID NOT INDICATED HIS NEXT OF KIN IN HIS INFORMATION HE GAVE US.I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOUR SURNAME IS DIFFRENT FROM MR SAWYER.
Thanks and Remain Bless,
Suleman Bello
---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com
|
Anti-fraud resources:
