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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:
- "clearance 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. )
- "western union" (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. )
- "mtcn" (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. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: WILLIAMS ROSE DAVID <file99211482@gmail.com>
Reply-To: benokoye22@msn.com
Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2011 13:33:05 +0530 (IST)
Subject: Re: Payment Notification!!!
Attention: Please!
I have registered your Compensation Fund of (US$500.000.00) with Western Union Money Transfer Office Benin Republic with registration code of (WUMT-8947) for immdeiate transfer. I tried all I could to ensure you receive it through DHL Delivery Company but their Manager informed me that they don't accept Cash for delivery because their agent might steal the money. So I contacted Western Union Manager who agreed to help us in transferring the fund per day as soon as you contact them with your full details of where to transfer it. What you have to do is to contact them with the given information below and reconfirm your Name/home address and country to them including your telephone#.
Contact: Mr Ben Okoye.
Western Union Money Transfer Manager,
Tel: +229-9852 1204
E-mail: benokoye22@msn.com
Base on the charge involve for the transfer, I have paid for registration and Clearance fee of the Fund to the Western Union Headquarter. What you need to pay the manager again is only Activation and Renewal charge of your payment files which the total cost is (US$45.00) and also indicate the registration Number of (WUMT-8947) to them when contacting or calling them.
Note that the Manager informed me that once they confirm the Activation and Renewal charge of your payment files your transfer will be done within 45-minutes and your payment details shall be giving to you such as: MTCN# SENDERS NAME. Do inform me immediately you start receiving the fund.
Best Regard's,
Mrs. Rose Williams
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