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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. )
- "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.
- 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: MR RALPH EGO <hmrc.refund@charvenca.com>
Reply-To: MR RALPH EGO <westernunion60@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2015 11:16:40 -0430 (VET)
Subject: ATTENTION BENEFICIARY:
ATTENTION BENEFICIARY:
THIS IS GOOD NEWS BECAUSE YOUR FIRST PAYMENT OF $5000.00USD HAS BEEN SENT TO YOU WITH THIS MTCN 74554714 XX AND WE CANNOT RELEASE THIS LAST 2 NUMBER FOR YOU UNTIL YOU SEND US $69 FOR US TO RE-FORM YOUR PAYMENT FORM AND NOTE THAT AS URGENT AS YOU SEND THIS $69 THEN WE WILL GET BACK TO YOU ASAP TODAY WITH THE LAST 2 DIGIT NUMBER FOR YOU TO PICK UP YOUR FIRST AVAILABLE $5000.00 USD ASAP TODAY.
NOTE THAT YOU HAVE GOOD OPPORTUNITY NOW TO PICK UP YOUR FIRST $5000 USD TODAY AND THE ONLY THING THAT IT WILL COST YOU IS $69AND IF YOU CAN RUN NOW TO WESTERN UNION AND SEND THIS $69 THEN I WILL GET BACK TO YOU WITH THE FULL MTCN FOR YOU TO PICK UP YOUR FIRST PAYMENT OF $5000 USD TODAY JUST UNDER 1 HOUR TODAY WITHOUT ANY WASTING TIME. REMEMBER THAT TE TOTAL AMOUN YOU ARE TO RECEIVE IS THE SUM OF$950,000,00
BELOW IS THE INFORMATION FOR YOU TO SEND THE LAST $69 TO HELP YOU PICK UP YOUR $5000.00USD TODAY.
RECEIVER NAME.....MIKE IDIGO
COUNTRY........BENIN REPUBLIC
CITY............COTONOU
QUESTION.......HOW LONG?
ANSWER....1 HOUR
MTCN..........?
WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS MESSAGE TO QUICKEN THE PROCESS.
REGARDS MR RALPH EGO,
GENERAL MANAGER
WESTERN UNION OFFICE
BENIN REPUBLIC
PHONE: +229 61241929
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Anti-fraud resources:
