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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"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:
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "i got your email address from " (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Muhammad Ahmadzai <pd86290@gmail.com>
Reply-To: patif9367@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2021 02:01:12 -0700
Subject: Re: Awaiting your response.
Greetings From Here.
My name is General Wali Muhammad Ahmadzai, former Chief of General
Staff of the Afghan Armed Forces. I am in search of a reputable
company or honest individual that can assist me with this deal without
exposing me or runaway with the money upon receipt of the money in his
custody. I believe this world is a free place to do business with
anyone with my experience. I got your email address from a business
guest book and I have asked my personal assistance to contact you for
two weeks again now, I therefore decided to write to you myself to
confirm if you actually received the email and for your willingness to
handle this transaction.
Please consider this and read about me online as I am in a secret
place. I was Chief of
General Staff of the Afghan Armed Forces and my name is General Sher
Mohammad Karim till 11 August 2021 when Taliban took over. I have
$980,000,000.00 Million in a secured vault in Europe. I canât travel
or do open business with people because of the present situation in
Afghanistan.
I will give you the name where the fund is deposited to enable you to
confirm this
report. You will receive these funds and use it for investment
purposes. I hope I can trust you?
Thanks.
Muhammad Ahmadzai
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Anti-fraud resources: