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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:
- "www.westernunio.n@admin.in.th" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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: =?utf-8?B?77u/V3d3Lldlc3Rlcm7CrlVuaW9uT2ZmaWNl?= <officetreasury@yahoo.cn>
Reply-To: www.westernunio.n@admin.in.th
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:29:34 +0800 (CST)
Subject: United Nations Human Rights Commissions (UNHRC)
Email: www.westernunio.n@admin.in.th
Phone: +229-9786-1084 or +229-6812-9682
MOTTO:IN GOD WE DEPENDS
Attn: Customer
This
is to acknowledge receipt of your email message regarding the release
of your over due Winning prize valued US$1.5M. Be informed that we had
earlier received an instruction from the Finance Ministry and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) to offset your winning prize through
our mode of payment. This development is as a result of a new payment
policy carried out by Central Bank of Benin in collaboration with
International Monetary Fund in accordance with the World Bank 2012
payment constitution.
Â
Following the petition they received from
United Nations Human Rights Commissions (UNHRC) and the International
Arbitration panel over the unnecessary protocols and delay in releasing
beneficiaries Winning prize/Contract award payment. The Minister of
Economic and finance has stepped in to work out modalities for an
amicable way of making sure that every unclaimed fund is duly released
to the beneficiaries without subjecting them to unnecessary extortion of
Fees/Charges. This is as a pre-condition of lifting the economic
sanction the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has
imposed on Benin Republic because of the activities of unscrupulous
elements operating in our various paying institutions and also to redeem
the good image of Benin Republic among the committee of Nations.
Â
We
are happy to inform you that after due verification on your payment
file, a total of US$1.5Million which was originally meant to be released
to you through a certified CASHIER CHEQUE/ATM CARD have been converted
to a cash payment, since the entire previous attempt to pay you through
other methods failed. This is an intervention to checkmate the
bureaucratic ineptitude and administrative bottleneck most beneficiaries
have suffered in the hands of our local bankers and their international
allies. Your immediate payment instruction has been forwarded to our
Paying Institution which was appointed specifically to handle your
payment in order to avoid further delay in releasing your payment.
Bear
in mind that the payment cannot be release to you unless you present a
valid ID card that will correspond to the information’s you will
provide, so take note and fill the below details correctly before the
programming start to avoid mistake:
Â
*NAME OF CUSTOMER: .........
*ADDRESS: ........................
*CITY...........................
*COUNTRY: .........................
*TEL: ...................................
*TEST QUESTION...................
*TEST ANSWER....................
 We
have the mandate to ensure that all the beneficiaries listed in this
first quarter payment schedule receives their fund. .You can as well
reach me with +229-6812-9682 for oral clarification.
Â
Yours Faithfully,
Mr. David Peter
 Â
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