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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:
- "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. )
- "service 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. )
- "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: Brown Gayleatha <office.file0004@yahoo.com.ph>
Reply-To: brown_gayleatha@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2011 01:08:29 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: HELLO MY DEAR,
HELLO MY DEAR,
This is Mrs
Gayleatha B.Brown the Former United States Ambassador to Republic of Benin, I
came down here in Cotonou Benin republic for an ECOWAS meeting and i was
searching for some files that i left in this office and found out that you have
not received your fund, and i asked Mr James Knight what happened that you have
not receive your fund and he said that you refused to pay the$55.00 delivery
fee.
I'm contacting you this morning because the director of the
western union here in Benin Republic said that they will divert your funds to
the Government Treasury account just because that you can not pay for their
service fee of your funds which is $55.00 only.
But i told them to wait
until i hear from you today so that i will know the reason why you rejected such
amount of money $2.5m which will change your life just because of
$55.00.
I want your urgent response as soon as you receive this email
and explain to me the reason why you have abandon your funds for $55.00. But if
you don't need it then i can change your name to another person so that this
Government will not claim this money but i know that you will love to have
it.
Please my dear i want to help you to receive this fund because it
was a big shock to me that you have not receive your fund since 2years now and
i'm very sorry for that and you will receive your fund before the end of this
meeting which will take us 4days and i will be here to monitor it untill you
receive your fund.
This is where you should send the fee today and don't
fail to do that as i have said.
Receiver Name===========MR Obeche
Sylvester
Country ========= Benin Republic
City =============
Cotonou
Text Question ========= Urgent
Answer ============ Today
Amount
======== $55.00
Sender Name ====
Mtcn ====
I will
wait to hear from you today with the mtcn
number.
Mrs
Gayleatha B.Brown
United States Former Ambassador to the Republic of
Benin
Mrs Gayleatha
B.Brown
USAID
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Anti-fraud resources:
