|
|
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: "Oksana Slavic." <mrjohnsloshar@gmail.com>
Reply-To: madamoksanaslavic@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2022 15:18:19 +0100
Subject: I anxiously await your quick and kind reply.
Good day.
I am writing to you because I need you to save the life of my
granddaughter and to help me secure the remaining of my family's life
savings kept by my late husband outside Ukraine. As you know, our
country has been in an endless war for a long time. I lost my husband,
children and sisters to this war. All I have left is my granddaughter.
I have also lost all money and properties my husband and I acquired
over the years, except the money I mentioned above. As I am old and
weak, I want you to help me receive this savings and use it to take
care of my granddaughter when she arrives in your country. The money
is enough to last her a lifetime even after you may have received your
percentage for all the assistance you shall render to us.
I really need your help to get her out of Ukraine to your country and
enable her to have a good future. I anxiously await your quick and
kind reply.
Kind regards,
Oksana Slavic
|
Anti-fraud resources:
