|
|
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:
- "chambers" (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.
- 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.
- +447053827287 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: Micheal Peter <micheal_peter@e1.ru>
Reply-To: Micheal Peter <drmichealpeter45@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Sat, 16 May 2015 14:46:40 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: DID YOU RECEIVE MY LAST EMAIL??
 123 Stoke Newington High Street
London N16 0PJ
+44 705 3827287
Good Day,
I am Micheal P. Foster , an attorney at law with Micheal P. Foster Chambers. A deceased client of mine, that shares the same last name as yours died as the result of a heart-related condition on March 12th 2014.
His heart condition was due to the death of all the members of his family in the tsunami disaster on the tsunami in USA 2013. And in the record there is no known successor to this deposit of the deceased who died without a will.
I have to contact you to come up as the next of kin so that we can  receive the USD45.5 M left behind before it is confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank. You will be rewarded  with 25% of the total amount for your assistance.
The bank has issued me a notice to contact the next of kin, or the account will be confiscated. Since you are sharing same name, I will like you to acknowledge the receipt of this email as soon as possible  and treat with absolute confidentiality and sincerity since it involved huge amount and has to do with trust.
I look forward to your quick reply.
Best regards,
Micheal P. Foster
+44 705 3827287
|
Anti-fraud resources:
