|
|
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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Fabian Law Firm <fabianlawfirm@outlook.com>
Reply-To: <eltonfabian@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2015 08:54:22 +0000
Subject: Notice of Last & Final Warning!
Dear Sir,
The intent of this notice is to inform you that as Edward's recognized attorney, his bank has issued me a Final written notice to provide his next-of-kin within a short time. My late client Edward (last name withheld)died with his wife and only daughter in a New York American Airlines Flight 587 crash.
I have been in charge of managing his properties here in London for a long time. There where some of his properties put out for sale before his death,for which payment has since been made. The proceeds of the sale is deposited into his local account here. I found your name in some of his documents and that is why I traced your email through an advanced search.
I am contacting you because you bear the same last-name with my late client.
Please get back to me ASAP.I want to know if you are in anyway related to my late client.
Regards,Elton Fabian(Attorney at Law)Principal Partner
|
Anti-fraud resources:
