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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. )
- "service fee" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.Harry James" <kelveeni120@gmail.com>
Reply-To: officeunion29@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2017 17:45:59 +0300 (EAT)
Subject: CONGRATULATION TO YOU DEAR BENEFICIARY.
CONGRATULATION TO YOU DEAR BENEFICIARY.
This is Mr.Harry James, The new elected United States Ambassador to
Republic of Benin, I went through the scheme of Mr James Knight the Former
United States Ambassador to Republic of Benin and found out that your
funds is among the funds that is not received by the Beneficiary and i
asked Mr James Knight yesterday after ECO-WAS meeting hold in SOUTH AFRICA
what happened that you did not receive your fund up till now and he said
that you refused to pay the $45.00 delivery fee.
So I'm contacting you this morning because the director of the Ministry of
Finance Minister here in Benin Republic said that they will divert your
funds to the Government Treasury account because you did not pay for
their service fee of your funds which is $45.00 only.
But i told them to wait until i hear from you today so that i will know
the reason why you rejected such amount of money $2.5m which will change
your life just because of $45.00.
I need your urgent response as soon as you receive this email and explain
to me the reason why you have abandon your funds because of $45.00,
because this is my opportunity to claim my right and matins my sit. But if
you don't need the fund then i can change your name to another person so
that Government will not claim this money but i know that you will love to
have your funds.
Please my dear i want to help you to receive this fund because it will be
a big shock to me that you have not receive your fund since years now and
I'm very sorry for that and you will receive your fund before the end of
this meeting which will take us 3 days and i promise to monitor your funds
until you receive your fund.
WARNING PLEASE DON'T REPLY BACK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND,
BECAUSE I AM HERE TO SEE THAT YOUR RECEIVE YOUR FUND BEFORE THE LAST DAY
OF THIS MEETING
This is where you should send the fee today and don't fail to do that as i
have said.
YOU ARE FREE TO SEND IT WESTERN UNION/ MONEY GRAM OR RIA MONEY TRANSFER
Receiver Name=========== PAUL AJA
Country ========= Benin Republic
City ============= Cotonou
Text Question =====How Long
Answer ===========3Hrs
Amount ======== $45.00
Sender Name ====
Mtcn ====
I will wait to hear from you today with the Payment Information Now.
Mr.Harry James United States Former Ambassador to the Republic of Benin
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