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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. )
- "moneygram" (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.
- MoneyGram money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. Along with Western Union it is a preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
Fraud email example:
From: "Michael Van Rooyen" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <michael@wusecurity.com>
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 04:43:08 -0000
Subject: Secret-Shopper / evaluator
Attention Applicant,
We are accepting applications from individuals in South Africa to become Secret-Shopper / evaluator. There is no charge or fee needed to become a shopper and you do not need any work experience, being a Secret-Shopper / evaluator does not by any way disturb your current job as this job only requires 1 or 2 hour of your time.
After you register, you will have access to training materials from us. Should you be interested your wages would be between R1,000.00 to R2,000.00 per week depending on how many evaluation takes place in a particular week. No commitment is made on this job and you would have flexible hours.
At least 2 evaluations a week will be assigned to you because this is a part time job and we think this job will suit you. We will provide you the money for all of your evaluations.
Cash deposits will be made into your account at certain times as you will be notified, you will deduct your salary as will be told and have the rest used for the evaluation at the location or bank that would be assigned to you for evaluations.
Provide the following information below if you are interested and we will get back to you.
First Name:
Middle Name:
Last Name:
ID Number:
Email:
Home Phone Number:
Office Phone Number:
Mobile Number:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Nationality:
Current Occupation and Employer:
All information above should be emailed to michael@wusecurity.com
Awaiting your response.
Regards
Michael Van Rooyen
Western Union / MoneyGram Securities
michael@wusecurity.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
