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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. )
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
- "cotonou" (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: "Foreign Remittance \(Bank Of America\)" <info.federalusabnk@gmail.com>
Reply-To: info.atmremittancedepartm@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 16 May 2011 15:48:49 +0100 (BST)
Subject: PICKUP CASH
My Greetings to you ,
We receive the email you sent, Mr. Donna Granger came all the way from usa
to claim your payment this morning. Please here come a very big question,
do we pay him? and he said that you are dead. Please reconfirm is your
full details and your direct telephone contact and your passport/ the
payment details this morning, if you know is not turth. Please note that
this is the final payment that you have to made to receive your fund in
your nearest bank this morning. Please let us know your nearest bank
address so that we can send them a letter of recomendation and your
transfer code for withdrawing.
I write to inform you that your funds has been called up for payment and
specially encoded to prevent any unlawful withdrawal or diversion . and
transfer will be completed upon your immediate compliance today .you will
receive your transfer in your destination banking address to pick up the
cash at any convenient bank locate in your area and the address you
giving
to us.from the rules guiding this payment you as the the beneficiary will
pay for the urgent dispatch fee US$32.00. to ensure this funds get to you
on time with maximum security. upon sending the fee we will commence
immediate today.
please do provide the above information accurately, because this office
cannot afford to be held liable for any wrong transfer of funds or
liability of funds credited into a ghost account. Pleease note that you
are
advice to send the require fee of $32 with the below details by Western
Union only.
Receives Name:--------Ifeanyi Chukwu John
Country:--------- Benin Republic
City/state:--------- Cotonou.
Question:--------- What Color?
Answer:-------- -Blue
Amount:--------- $32
MTCN:---------
Please try all you can to send me the payment details today as soon as you
send the requested fee of $32 today so that we can finishup the transfer
by
today without any further delay again.
Waiting to hear from you soon.
Thanks,
Thanks for banking with Bank of America while we looking forward to
serving you with the
best of our service.
Eric Lee.
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Anti-fraud resources:
