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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "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. )
- "diplomatic agent" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "dhlcompany.courier@qip.ru" (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.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- diplomatmaticagent@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "DIPLOMATIC AGENT PETER FRANK." <dainopaolo@alice.it>
Reply-To: diplomatmaticagent@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2016 12:38:58 +0100 (CET)
Subject: GOOD DAY I AM DIPLOMAT MR.PETER FRANK, I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT I AM
ON MY WAY COMMING TO YOUR HOUSE WITH YOUR ATM CARD OK,
LEEWING TRADING COMPANY LIMITED
GOOD DAY I AM DIPLOMAT MR.PETER FRANK.
HOW IS EVERYTHING AND YOUR FAMILY IS NOW OVER 3 HOURS THAT I HAVE BEEN HERE
WITH USA CUSTOMS WHERE I WAS ARRESTED THAT I DO NOT HAVE A DELIVERY CLEARANCE
PAPER AT WASHINGTON DC INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. BUT I THANKS GOD THAT THEY HAVE
RELEASED ME NOW WITH YOUR PACKAGE WORTH SUM OF $10.7 MILLION U.S.A DOLLARS BUT
THEY NEVER KNOW THAT IT CONTENTS ARE LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY. SO NOW THEM
RELEASED ME WITH YOUR ATM CARD. YOU ADVICE TO RECONFIRM YOUR DETAILS YOU KNOW I
LOST THEM DURING WHEN I WAS DRAGGING WITH YOUR PACKAGE BY SOME IMMIGRATION
OFFICERS HERE.
AND AGAIN YOU HAVE TO PAY THE SUM OF $130 FOR AIR WAY BILL PAPERS THEY SAID
THAT IF I DID NOT HAVE IT, I WILL NOT ENTER FLIGHT OR TAXI TO YOUR HOME
ADDRESS, SO SEND THE FEES TO BENIN REPUBLIC WHERE I CAME FROM THEY WILL GET THE
AIR WAY BILL ASAP AND FORWARD TO ME HERE IN THE AIRPORT AND IT WILL NOT TAKE ME
MORE THAN 5/HRS OR 4/HRS I WILL GET TO YOUR HOME ONCE YOU SEND THE FEES. HERE
IS THE INFORMATION TO SEND IT.
RECEIVERS NAME ........ LEON MBA
COUNTRY .......BENIN REPUBLIC .
CITY COTONOU .
AMOUNT ........$130.00
QUESTION...... HOW LONG.
ANSWER ......5HOURS.
SENDERS NAME.......
MTCN........
PLEASE CALL MY DIRECTOR DHL DELIVERY COMPANY NOW NAME MR.JOHNSON CHRIS // (
dhlcompany.courier@qip.ru ) CALL +229-99-92-01-31
PLEASE NOW THEM HAVE RELEASED ME AND I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE ANY MORE LONG HERE
AND I WILL DELIVER YOUR FUNDS IN 5 HRS TIME ONCE YOU SEND THE FEES TO THE MAN
IN CHARGE MR.JOHNSON CHRIS WITH ABOVE GIVEN INFORMATION.DO THAT FAST SO THAT
THEY WILL NOT LOOK OVER THIS PACKAGE TO KNOW THE CONTENTS,
THANKS
EMAILS:(diplomatmaticagent@yahoo.com )
DIPLOMATIC AGENT PETER FRANK.
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Anti-fraud resources:
