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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. )
- "hundred thousand united state dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "jimnkohh@msn.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: "Mr. Jeofrey Cole" <albertstoneking@sbcglobal.net>
Reply-To: jimnkohh@msn.com
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 15:53:39 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Waiting For Your Reply Now.
Attn: Beneficiary,
I have received an instruction from Mrs. Francis Dora, to contact you regarding your (USD$500.000.00) Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars she kept for your compensation before she travel to India. Since then i have been sending you email via the email address she gave me but it keep on returning until today. I thought maybe you are not using the old email address again. So please if you have received any of my mail, kindly respond with more direction on where i can send the fund to you.
Because i have verified below Companies and it costs and here is the prices i got from them: Meanwhile you have to choose any of the option and email me back.
1: MONEY GRAM INTERNATIONAL: COST: USD$130.00
2: WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER: COST: USD$150.00
3: DHL DELIVERY COMPANY TO YOUR HOME: COST: USD$210.00
4: BANK WIRE TRANSFER TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT: COST: USD$480.00
The option above is my findings and you are to choose one of them and send it via Western Union to my assistant name as listed below:
Receiver's Name: Mr. John Mmorba
Receiver's Location: Benin Republic.
Receiver's City: Cotonou
Text Question: What Colour?
Text Answer: Blue.
MTCN Number#
Sender's Name.
Please: If you would receive your fund through DHL COMPANY you will have to re-confirm your Home & Office Address including the cost, But if it will be through WESTERN UNION OR MONEY GRAM you can re-confirm only your Name/City and Country including the cost. If it will be Bank Wire Transfer, then send your Banking Details for immediate transfer including the cost. I am looking forward to hear from you.
Thank You.
Mr. Jeofrey Cole.
Tel# +229 9829 2981
Email:jimnkohh@msn.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
