|
|
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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.Omar Arouna " <salifroland@gmail.com>
Reply-To: omar.arouna500@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2022 08:21:29 -0700
Subject: good evening
good evening
Dear Friend
Please
my name is Mr. Omar Arouna from Burkina Faso and I
work with bank OF Africa as acting head of finance. I
contacted you in good faith and I am optimistic that the success of
this transaction will go a long way to uplift our financial status in
no distant time.
However, one of our deceased customers from Malaysia abandoned the sum
of $11.9 million in our bank since 2013, and according to the financial
act my government has every right to confiscate funds in unclaimed
bank account/unattended after 8 years, it’s in this regard that I want
to commission this fund to you so that you will stand as associate to
the deceased customer and claim this fund from my bank after which we
will share it at the ratio of 40% for you and 60% for me.Please
you on how to apply to my bank for the transfer of this fund
into your personal bank account. I hope to hear from you soon.
(1) Your Full Name,
(2) Sex and Age:
(3) Country of origin:
(4) Residential address:
(5) Phone number:
(6) Occupation:
Best regards,
Mr. Omar Arouna.
|
Anti-fraud resources:
