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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:
- "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. )
- "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.
- 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 DONALD JOHNSON <donaldjohnson050@gmail.com>
Reply-To: MR DONALD JOHNSON <mrdonaldjohnson44@outlook.com>
Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2017 07:01:01 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Dear Esteemed Customer.
Money Gram Remittance office
#106 Ude Avenue Cotonou
Benin Republic West Africa.
Phone: +229 67 98 83 07.
Dear Esteemed Customer.
My name is Mr.Donald Johnson Director Money Gram financial Service Republic of Benin West Africa.
I wish to notify you about your pending transfer from this office. We received your compensation award payment on 17th of Dec 2016 from the Federal Ministry of Finance Benin to pay you as a result of the scam compensation for all your past effort at past trying to receive your funds.
The awarded sum is $5 millions only which we were instructed to be sending to you at the daily amount of $6,000 until the total sum is completely transferred to you. I was admitted to Hospital since Dec 19th 2016 due to my eye problem and just resume work today. Please accept my delay apology.
Your daily transfer will begin and you are required to reconfirm the following information to us today.
Kindly fill the following information to avoid wrong transfer.
(1) Full name
(2) Mobile Number
(3) Direct telephone number
(4) Country of origin
(5) Your Current delivery address
(6) Occupation/ age/ sex
(7) City
Regards
Mr.Donald Johnson
Director Money Gram
Financial Service Republic
Phone: +229 67 98 83 07
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Anti-fraud resources:
