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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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. )
- "moneygram" (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. )
- 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.
- MoneyGram money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. Along with Western Union it is a preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- ngsvcc@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ngsvcc@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:20:29 +0100
Subject: Scam Alert !!
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Ref: An Open Letter To All Scam Victims,
Attention,
If you have sent money to Nigeria in the course of getting one fund or the other, you are required to send your name and address to us via the email address stated below for verification at Western Union and MoneyGram to see if truly you have sent money by Western Union or MoneyGram to Nigeria and after verification if truly you have sent money to Nigeria in the course of getting one fund or the other that means you have been scammed and you will be reimbursed with the sum of twenty thousand dollars only.
The transfer charges of the twenty thousand dollars have been paid and the fund has also been insured by the Federal Government of Nigeria to avoid unnecessary deduction from the fund. Please note that we have never held any scam victims compensation program in Nigeria. This is the First-Of-Its-Kind. Do not be deceived!
Send your name and address for verification to: ngsvcc@hotmail.com
Please do not respond to email which asks you to send your username and password.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Joshua Oluwa
Oversea Communication Department
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We sincerely apologies for all the damages you must have gone through in the hand of Nigerian fraudsters. We are Projecting favorably the image of the government and people of Nigeria locally and internationally through a proactive mechanism (in line with global best practices) of informing, enlightening and educating Nigerians and the International Community about Nigeria.
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Anti-fraud resources:
