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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:
- "cost of transfer" (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. )
- "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. )
- "consignment " (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)
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (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.
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <admin@nigeria-usembassy-gov.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:37:18 -0700
Subject: Your Overdue Payment
US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA
11 GARKI ROAD ABUJA
ABUJA, NIGERIA
ATTN: BENEFICIARY
THIS IS TO INFORM YOU THAT THE US EMBASSY TO NIGERIA SHALL BE SENDING ONE OF HIS DIPLOMAT TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING AND HE WILL BE BRINGING YOUR OUTSTANDING FUND/PAYMENT IN FORM OF AN ATM CARD OR IN FORM OF A CONSIGNMENT ALONG WITH HIM BUT THIS TIME HE WILL NOT GO THROUGH CUSTOMS PROBLEM AS HE IS A DIPLOMATIC OFFICER FROM THE US EMBASSY AND HE HAS BEEN GIVEN THE VETO POWER TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMS ROOT WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM.
AS SOON AS HE IS THROUGH WITH THE MEETING HE WILL THEN PROCEED TO YOUR ADDRESS. (PLS RE-CONFIRM TO US YOUR PRESENT CELL PHONE NUMBER AND THE ADDRESS WHERE YOU WANT HIM TO BRING THE ATM CARD OR FUND/CONSIGNMENT TO).
WE HAVE TAKEN THIS TASK UPON OURSELVES BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE REALLY PAID SO MUCH ON COST OF TRANSFER,ATM CARD DELIVERY ETC BUT NOTHING WAS RECEIVED. I MUST SAY THAT YOU ARE A VERY LUCKY PERSON BECAUSE OUR DIPLOMATIC OFFICER WILL BE BRINGING THE FUND AS AN ATM CARD OR AS A CONSIGNMENT HIMSELF TO YOUR DOORSTEP DEPENDING ON WHICH METHOD OF PAYMENT YOU PREFER AND THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE IN THIS WORLD CAN DO ABOUT IT.
THE ONLY OBSTACLE HERE BEFORE THE DELIVERY IS THAT YOUR PACKAGE MUST BE REGISTERED AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO DEFEAT ALL ODDS AND THE COST OF THE PACKAGE REGISTRATION IS $125 ONLY.
THE FEE MUST BE PAID BETWEEN NOW AND THE NEXT 50 HOURS VIA WESTERN UNION SO THAT ALL NECCESSARY ARRANGEMENTS CAN BE MADE BEFORE TIME WILL BE AGAINST US.
SEND THE FEE VIA MONEY GRAM OR WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER-
RECEIVER'S NAME: JOHN UDO
ADDRESS: LAGOS, NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION: WHY
ANSWER: NO HITCHES
AMOUNT:$125
AS SOON AS YOU SEND THE FEE MAKE SURE YOU SEND ME THE PAYMENT INFORMATION VIA THIS EMAIL FOR OUR PERUSAL.
I EXPECT YOU TO COMPLY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT THE DELIVERY REGISTRATION WILL BE COMPLETED ASAP BUT IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, THEN IT WILL NOT BE MY FAULT IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR PACKAGE THIS TIME THAT YOU HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BY US.
I REMAIN,
ROBIN RENEE SANDERS
US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA
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Anti-fraud resources:
