|
|
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:
- "certified bank draft" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- "martinhillman@gpawardprom.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- "validating.department@careceo.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
- They don't notify winners by email.
- You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
- They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
- They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
- They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
- They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
- They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +447031914542 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: "Google Incorporation" <martinhillman@webname.com>
Reply-To: martinhillman@gpawardprom.com
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 22:40:29 -0800
Subject: Google Award Notification GINC/7751863...
Google UK Ltd
Belgrave House 76
Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 9TQ
United Kingdom.
=
Google Celebrates Search Giant
=
Reference Number: GINC/7751863
=
Dear Google User!
=
We wish to congratulate you for being selected as a major customer of the G=
oogle Incorporation. A promotion has being put in place for all active user=
s of the Google search engine and other Google products to encourage all us=
ers.
=
We ran an online E-mail beta test from Millions of Google users which your =
E-mail address came up as a winner. Google is now the biggest search engine=
worldwide and in an effort to ensure that it remains the most widely used =
search engine.
=
We thereby formally inform you that you successfully passed the requirement=
s, legal requirements and satisfactory report from all online test conducte=
d and you have been awarded the sum of =408950,000.00 GBP {Nine Hundred and=
Fifty Thousand Great British Pounds Sterling. With your file reference num=
ber: GINC/7751863, believing that with your winning prize you will continue=
to be active on the Google search engine and other Google products.
=
A winning Cheque/international certified bank draft will be issued in your =
name by Google Promotion Award Team, we write to officially notify you of t=
his award and to advise you to contact the processing office immediately up=
on receipt of this message for more information concerning the verification=
, processing and eventual payment of the above prize to you.
=
Provide Below Information for Verification
=
Residential Address: =
Tel: /Mobile: =
Nationality: / Country: =
Full Name: =
Age: /Gender: =
Occupation: /Position: =
Alternative email account if any: =
What is your comment On Google Products?
=
To file for your claim, you are required to contact our Validating departme=
nt for VALIDATION of your winnings within Twenty-nine working days of this =
winning notification. Winnings that are not validated within Twenty-nine wo=
rking days of winning notification are termed void and invalid.
=
CONTACT: =
********************************************************
Martin Hillman
Google Incorporation
Telephone: +44-703-191-4542
Fax: +44-700-580-0397
E-mail: martinhillman@gpawardprom.com
E-mail: validating.department@careceo.com
********************************************************
=
Congratulations from the Staffs & Members of the Google interactive Lotteri=
es Board Commission.
=
MD Matt Brittin
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
=
=A92014 Google Incorporation Powered by Google
|
Anti-fraud resources:
