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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. )
- "wumto3@live.com" (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.
- 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: "Western Union Money Transfer" <nfarid@bracnet.net>
Reply-To: wumto3@live.com
Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2010 00:35:54 +0600 (BDT)
Subject: Transfer Alart From The UN
How are you today?
This is to inform you that we have already sent USD5000.00 dollars through
Western Union as we have been mandated to transfer the payment of
compensation the total sum of USD150, 000.00 through Western Union by the
UN government.
In this connection, I tried to call yesterday to provide this information
via telephone in order to avoid the potential for cyber criminals to
laying hold of this vital information, but could not reach you. So I
decided to send MTCN, sender's name and relevant information, so you can
pick up this USD5000.00 so we can send another USD5000.00 tomorrow as you
know, we will be sending only USD5000.00 per day. Please collect this
information and go to any Western Union office near you in your country to
collect USD5000.00 and email us so we can continue with the amount of rest
tomorrow.
Mr. Roy Charlton Manager
Tell: +234-813-121-8412
Email: wumto3@live.com
call or email once I picked up this USD5000.00 today.
Here is the information from Western Union to collect compensation
MTCN: 622 159 4597
Sender's Name: Linda Benson
Question: Honesty
Answer: Trust
Amount: USD5000.00
Country: Nigeria
I am waiting for your call once you pick this transfer
Regards
Director of Operations
Western Union ® nsfer
This message has been scanned
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