|
|
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:
- "contact me immediately" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Micheal Amanda<" <marketing@trevisomaq.com.br>
Reply-To: Micheal Amanda <michealadssss@yeah.net>
Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2015 22:31:24 -0300 (BRT)
Subject: Hello Sir/Madam,
--
Hello Good day,
I am Micheal Amanda by name, writing from Republic of Togo to remind you once again about a letter I sent to you some weeks ago in regards to a contractor / Engineer whom I believe is your relative for bearing the same surname. He and his wife and their two kids were victims of a ghastly auto crash along Dapaong express way here in TOGO with all losing their lives. Every effort to reach his direct family unfortunately has proved abortive while he left behind an unclaimed payment-deposit of US$35.580Million representing his contract bill executed here in Togo.
Please contact me immediately for more information through this email box only michealadsssss@yeah.net
Sincerely,
Mr. Micheal Amanda .
|
Anti-fraud resources:
