|
|
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:
- "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "keep it confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Vector Edgar." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <vecgarr@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 5 May 2020 17:59:15 -0700
Subject: =?utf-8?Q?=5BSpam=5D?=
ARE YOU STILL USING THIS EMAIL?
PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL
Hello ,
Hope you are safe from the Covid-19 crises flying all over the world.
Please permit me to introduce myself first and reason of contacting you.
I am Mr. Vector Edgar. Please can you help me receive $12.7 million dollars for safekeeping / investment?, and get compensated with 30% of this sum.
But please before we proceed I have few questions
Can you handle this?
Can you keep it confidential?.
Can I count on your trust ?,
I am proposing 35% for your kind assistance and this is 100% risk free ,
I will give you further detail as soon as I hear from you.
Thank you and best regards.
Mr. Vector Edgar.
|
Anti-fraud resources:
