|
|
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:
- "gtbnkplc@yeah.net" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Dan Jacobs" <goodluckjj8@gmail.com>
Reply-To: gtbnkplc@yeah.net
Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2017 05:31:45 -0800
Subject: CONTACT (GT BANK) IMMEDIATELY FOR YOUR FUND
Attn Please;
How are you today and your family? By God grace I have successfully
succeeded in getting your fund sum of $2.8 Million deposited with GT
bank for online banking yesterday, We thank God for making things go
well and safety with us, with this idea you will have your fund
transfer by yourself at your convenient time in your computer system
that is for easy and safety of your fund. kindly contact GT BANK with
below information.
Contact Person: Mr. Douglas William
GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC
Email Address: <gtbnkplc@yeah.net>
Tell: +229 9734 9585.
Yours Faithfully
Mr. Dan Jacobs
|
Anti-fraud resources: