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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. )
- "huge amount of money" (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 of america" (this email uses bad English)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- 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.
- +229 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
Fraud email example:
From: INTERNATIONAL POLICE <aronunneve@yahoo.fr>
Reply-To: inter_police1987@qatar.io
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:00:30 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: INTERNATIONAL POLICE
INTERNATIONAL POLICE
(INTERPOL)
RC-32657, HEATTHROW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT COMMAND,
BENIN REPUBLIC CONTACT US ON THIS EMAIL: (inter_police1987@qatar.io)
PHONE ;+229 93 84 69 89
WE ARE PROUD OF OUR IMAGE AND OUR PRAYER IS TO GOD GIVE US MORE KNOWLEDGE FOR OUR DUTY, GOD BLESS INTERPOL.
ATTN;
THIS IS TO BRING IT TO YOUR NOTICE THAT WE THE INTERNATIONAL POLICE BENIN BRANCH WEST AFRICA ( INTERPOL) ARE TO OFFICIAL INFORM YOU THAT FBI OF AMERICA INFORM US TO CARRY ON THE INVESTIGATION CONCERNING THE BUSINESS TRANSACTION THAT YOU ARE HAVING OVER HERE IN THE AFRICA AS YOU KNOW THAT HERE IS AFRICA WHILE FBI ARE IN THE UNITED STATE OF AMERICA SO AFTER OUR INVESTIGATION CONSULTANT WITH WEST AFRICA MONETARY INSTITUTE ( WAMI ) SO EVERY INVETSIGATION CONCERNING YOUR FUND WAS HANDED OVER TO US PER THE MEETING THAT WAS GOING ON FOR PASS 7 DAYS WHICH ENDED TODAY .
CONFIDENTIAL NOTE ; WE ARE HERE TO OFFICIAL INFORM YOU THAT OUR MENS HAVE GO TO WESTERN TODAY AND SECURE THE CHEQUE FROM THE OFFICE OF WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER AGENCY THAT SURPOSE TO TRANSFER THE FUND TO YOU THROUGH THEIR WESTERN UNION OFFICE AS IT RESULT THAT THE CHEQUE IS VERY HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY TO BE TRANSFER THROUGH WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER ,SO THE CHEQUE IS NOW IN OUR CUSTODY .
SO BE INFORM THAT THE CHEQUE IS NOW ON OUR CUSTODY HERE IN OUR OFFICE AND WE ARE TO DELIVER THE CHEQUE TO YOU WITH OUT ANY FURTHER DELAYING FOR YOU TO NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH ANY OFFICE OR DEPARTMENT THAT IS MONETARY YOUR FUND AS WE ARE CONCERN ON THIS MATTER NOW .
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO NOW IS TO TRY AND SEE THAT YOU MEET UP WITH OUR REQUEST SO THAT WE CAN RELEASE YOUR CHEQUE AND DELIVERY IT TO YOU IMMEDIATELY WITH OUT HAVING ANY OTHER PROBLEM BUT THE ONLY THING THAT HOLDING YOUR FUND HERE IS THAT YOU HAVE TO RECONFIRM TO US YOUR FULL INFORMATION WHERE TO SEND THE CHEQUE TO YOU AND YOU HAVE TO COME UP WITH OUR DUTY SERVICE CHARGE WHICH IS $95 DOLLARS ONLY ,
YOU ARE HERE ADVICE TO URGENTLY SEND TO US THE DUTY SERVICE CHARGE THAT MUST TO PAY BY THE BENEFICIAL AS CONGREGATION OF INTERNATIONAL FUND WHICH IS $95 USD AND YOUR FULL INFORMATION BELOW SO THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR CHEQUE THIS WEEK .
YOUR FULL NAME
YOUR DELIVERY ADDRESS
YOUR DIRECT PHONE NUMBER
AND YOU HAVE TO SEND THE MONEY WITH THE NAME OF OUR AGENT ON THE INFORMATION BELOW THROUGH ANY WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER AGENCY OR MONEY GRAM .
RECEIVERS : OBIORAH SIMEON
COUNTRY : BENIN REPUBLIC
CITY : COTONOU
POSTAL CODE; 00229
TEST QUESTION : HOW LONG ?
TEST ANSWER : 2 DAYS
AMOUT : $95
MTCN.. .............................. .
DO NOT FORGET TO SEND TO US THE PAYMENT INFORMATION IMMIDIATELY YOU HAVE SEND THE MONEY.
THANKS AND GOD BLESS
INTERPOL REGIONAL OFFICE BENIN REPLY US THROUGH THIS CONTACT EMAIL: (inter_police1987@qatar.io)
OFFICE IN CHARGE; SUPP. MOHAMMED YESUFU
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