|
|
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:
- 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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
- 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.
- stepifordfund54@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Stephen Pickford <stepifordfund54@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <stepifordfund54@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 09:48:48 -0700
Subject: DEAR...I NEED YOU TO ACTUALIZE THIS DREAM
Dear Sir/Madam,
I'm sorry to have contacted you unawares.I have a young innocent girl that I want you to take care of in your Country and put her in a good school for her to have a better life. She is from Sudan where they have a Civil war but she is a refugee now in Ghana for the safety of her life.She has enough funds to take care of her education and a better life in your place. The killings there(Sudan) by the rebel Soldiers are so much that many innocent children have lost their parents.Her parents were targeted by the rebels and killed for being part of the interim Government in Sudan leaving her with an inheritance of some funds which he kept somewhere else.
You would be entitled to 30% of this funds if you adopt this young girl and help her settle down in your place as your child and help her get a good education. You will use her 70% to enroll her in a good school and you can invest the money for her.This is my humble request to help this little girl to secure her future again and you should know that this is not all about making profit but just for you to show your kindness towards this girl, I believe strongly that you can be of help due to your philanthropic nature.
I will be waiting to hear from you,so we can proceed to the next level which is the adoption process before you can suggest on possible means to get the fund transferred into your designated Bank account and the gold. Email: stepifordfund54@yahoo.com
Best regards,
Barrister Stephen Ford Esq.
for the company
Accra - Ghana.
|
Anti-fraud resources:
