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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "demurrage " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "activation fee" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "million united state 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)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- joshuadaneil2@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Mohamed Yakub" <diplomaticagent321@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mohamedyakub@aol.com
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2021 16:53:02 -0700
Subject: Attention beneficially urgent respond for your ATM card.
Dear Sir/Madam,
This is to bring to your notice that I have been able to pay the
re-activation fee and the delivery fee of your ATM Card. I paid it because
the ATM Card worth of US$7.5 Million United State
Dollars has less than one month to expire and when it expires, the money
will lost to the Federal Government treasury account.With that I decided to
help you pay off the money so that the Automated Teller Machine {ATM} Card
will not expire because I trust that when you receive your ATM Card
definitely you must pay me back my expenses and even compensate me for
helping you. Now I want you to contact the UPS Courier Office with your
physical address. You prefer the delivery so that they can deliver your
Card to your designated address without any delay. Like I stated earlier,
the delivery charges have been paid but I did not pay their official
keeping fees since they refused.
They refused and the reason is clear that they don't know when you are
contacting them and the demurrage might have increased. So you are advised
to contact them immediately to avoid the security keeping charge increase.
Below is their Contact Information, Contact Person: Mr. Joshua Daniel
UPS Courier office Email: joshuadaneil2@aol.com
Contact them Today with the following information
Your Full Name...
Telephone Number..
Your complete shipping address.
City...
This to ensure clarity and has to be done today to avoid an increase of
their keeping fees and let me know once you receive your card.
Your pin code # :1906: to make your withdrawals without any delay.
YOUR ATM CARD ACCOUNT # : 4577-3700-0383-8838
Best Regards.
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