|
|
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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "MRS. AGNES B. MARTIN " <mercyklord24@gmail.com>
Reply-To: agkofi22@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2021 02:42:58 +0000
Subject: WE NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE PLEASE
--
Hello,
I am Mrs. Agnes B. Martin the wife of late Dr. Jerry Martin from
Sierra-Leone but based in Cote d'Ivoire. My late husband was murdered
in Cote d'Ivoire along with his lawyer a few years ago on their
business trip back from Dubai.
It is with tears that I am writing you this mail from my sick bed here
in the hospital with the assistance of my only child Jessica, 21years
old.
Before his death, he had some money $19.2Million deposited with one of
the best banks here. I am contacting you because I need your sincere
cooperation and assistance to be a guardian to my daughter so that you
can help her to receive this money in your account in your country for
investment and to help the poor and less privileged in your country or
elsewhere in the world.
My daughter Jessica and I have agreed to give you 15 percent of this
total money as compensation and thanks for your help.
If you are interested and can be TRUSTED, please reply immediately for
more details before I go for operation.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Agnes & Jessica.
|
Anti-fraud resources:
