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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. )
- "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (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.
- 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: "Chief Remittance Officer" <info@lee.com>
Reply-To: <infohampshirs1@ymail.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2014 14:51:12 +0330
Subject: HTB House Branch 004690121
HTB House Branch 004690121
Dear Beneficary..
The payment Bank for the 2014 UN Online Promo. We are pleased to be at your service. We are Regulated and Stipulated by the Financial
Service Authority (FSA), the financial institutions that govern all financial activities around the World, after a proper screening and
verification excises that was conducted in our Bank today in addition to receiving confirmation from the UN and The ECOWAS Online
Promotional board, that you are one of the promo winners of 4.5 Million USD.
This is to let you know that after the meeting with the new manageing director of you funds because our old manageing director have
retired.the new director has decieded that due to the fact that he has just resumed duty as the new manageing director he has change the
policy of the bank and he said since all the beneficary account are still domant he has given a good ahead that all beneficary should open
the online bank account for $150usd and he is doing this just to welcome the new beneficary into our bank..
Due to this changes in policy before you can be given the username and password of your online account you need to apply with bank because
after you apply with the bank we will get back to you in the next 24 hours to open the online account for you so that can start making
transfer online...without the payment been made we can not open and cerdit the online account for you because due to your online account is
domant and your account will be created before you can transfer...
After you send the money the username and password and your account infomations will be sent to you..and we will you how you can make the
transfer online.
This is the payment information send by western union or money gram with this info.
Receiver,s Name : Mark ThankGod
Receiver,s Address : Lagos - Nigeria
Text Question : In God
Text Answer : We Trust
Amount : $450.00usd
Kindly re-confirm your personal data to my office ASAP.
Send us the mtcn number after payment and the copy of the payment.
Opening hours: 8.30am-6.00pm Monday to Friday.
8.30am-2.00 Noon Saturday to Sunday.
For: Hallporte Trust Bank PLC
Mrs. Grace Onyemem
MGR, E-Business & Card Services
HTBank Tel: +234-708200-5348
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