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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. )
- "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing 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.
- 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.
- larrymartin196000@yahoo.com (Yahoo; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Larry Martin <ipbn2006@sify.com>
Reply-To: l.martin@inbox.com
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2011 05:07:01 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Western Union Sent Pick Up Now!!!
Attn:
I write to inform you that we have already sent you USD5000.00 dollars through Western union as we have been given the mandate to transfer your full compensation payment of $250,000USD via western union as there is a new M.O.U with ECOWAS AND WESTERN UNION ON THE COMPENSATION OF SCAMMED VICTIMS.
I called to give you the information{9218031330} through phone but i could not reach you last week and 2days back as well.So,I decided to email you the MTCN and sender name so that you pick up this USD$5000.00 to enable us send another USD$5000.00 by tomorrow as you know we will be sending you only USD$5000.00 per day.THIS WILL GO ON FOR 50DAYS APPROX. Since we did not hear from you we could not send you the test question/Answer, hence {DE-ACTIVATION}.
You are therefore required to track your payment online before you go for final pickup, kindly Check on http://www.westernunion.com/
CLICK TRACKING AND FILL IN THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION'S BELOW:Sent By Our Accountant: Joseph Scott
MTCN : 9218031330
Sender's First Name: Joseph
Sender's Last Name: Scott
Amount:$5000
YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED THAT IT IS HAS BEEN PICKED UP.
We will send you the new set of Money Control Numbers{MTCN}/TEST QUESTION AND ANSWER WHEN WE HEAR FROM YOU.
You can CALL/EMAIL ME now so we ACTIVATE IT NOW.
Best Regards
Mr.Larry Martin{Compensation Dept}.
HEAD ECOWAS COMPENSATION AWARD AUTHORITY/GHANA/WEST AFRICA
Ecowas House Osu, Accra, Ghana.
TEL:+233268991789
E-Mail: larrymartin196000@yahoo.com
larrymartin@w.cn
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