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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. )
- "money gram" (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. )
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- "abuja" (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: "Ambassador Terence P. McCulley" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <terencepmcculley011@outlook.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2013 13:32:35 -0700
Subject: Ambassador Terence P. McCulley
Office of: Ambassador Terence P. McCulley
United States Ambassador To Nigeria
11 Gariki Road Abuja
Abuja - Nigeria
Website: http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/biography.html
Dear Beneficiary,
I shall be arriving your country in few day for an official meeting,
and i will be bringing along the part payment of $5 Million USD of
your Beneficiary Funds with me. But this time, i will not go through
the Customs because as an Ambassador, i have the veto power to bring
in your funds to your address as soon as i am through with the
meeting.
**** Send your Full Address, and 24 Hours contact Phone number / Cell
phone number.
You have paid so much to get your funds released and it makes me
wonder. You are a very lucky person because i shall be bringing it
myself and there is anyone can do about it.
Your $5 Million USD must be REGISTERED AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE for
me to defeat all odds and the cost of registering it is $150 USD. The
fees must be paid within the next 48 hours through WESTERN UNION or
MONEY GRAM so that all necessary arrangement can be made before time
will be against us.
Send the fee via WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER or MONEY GRAM with below
payment information:
RECEIVER'S NAME: PAUL UGO
ADDRESS: 11 GARIK ROAD ABUJA - NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION: GOD IS
ANSWER: GOOD
AMOUNT:$150
As soon as you send the fee make sure you send me the payment MTCN
Number or Reference Number.
My flight is sunday and i expect you to comply before then so that the
delivery can be Completed. If you do no comply, then it will not be my
fault if you do not receive your Package.
AMBASSADOR
Ambassador Terence P. McCulley
U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria
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Anti-fraud resources:
