|
|
joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
|
|
"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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "microsoft lottery" (no such lottery exists)
- 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. )
- "robert mueller" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real FBI will not tell you to contact some email address. If you are in any doubt, contact an FBI field office via www.fbi.gov. )
- "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.
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "ROBERT MUELLER" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <oyob22@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:40:35 -0700
Subject: GET YOUR PACKAGE DELIVERED WITHIN 14 HOURS
DESK OF ROBERT MUELLER FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI)
CC: UNITED NATION
CC: HOMELAND SECURITY
CC: WORLD LOTTERY ORGANIZATION
CC: U.S EMBASSY
THE ABOVE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION IS AWARE OF THIS EMAIL I WANT YOU TO ACT SMART AND FAST TO COMPLETE THIS TRANSACTION.
I WANT YOU TO ABIDE TO MY INSTRUCTION BELOW ONCE YOU RECEIVE THIS EMAIL AND ALSO RECONFIRM YOUR DELIVERY ADDRESS TO AVOID DELIVERY ERROR.
THE ORIGIN OF THIS PAYMENT STARTED 2011 JANUARY WHEN YOUR EMAIL WON IN THE 2011 NEW YEAR MICROSOFT LOTTERY AND ALSO THE COCA COLA LOTTERY HELD IN LAGOS NIGERIA SINCE THEN YOUR COUNTRY EMBASSY AND THE UNITED NATION HAVING BEEN DOING THERE BEST TO MAKE SURE YOU RECEIVE YOUR PRIZE AND DUE TO MY INVESTIGATION I FOUND OUT YOU DON'T WANT TO ABIDE TO THE LEGAL PROCEDURE TO ENABLE THIS TRANSACTION COME TO AN END.
YOU WILL RECEIVE A VISA CREDIT CARD WHICH CONTAIN $20 MILLION USD AND THE 2ND CONTAIN A VERIFIED CASHIER CHECK WHICH CONTAIN $3 MILLION USD WITH ALL BACK UP DOCUMENT EVERYTHING WAS MADE IN YOUR NAME AND THE PACKAGE INCLUDE AN INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO MAKE WITHDRAW WORLD WIDE AND ALSO CASH-OUT THE CHECK WITHIN 20 HOURS ONCE YOU DEPOSIT IT BECAUSE IT IS VERIFIED CASHIER CHECK.
THE PACKAGE WILL BE RETURNED BACK FEW HOURS ONCE YOU RECEIVE THIS EMAIL AND IT WILL BE MARKED AS UNCLAIMED PACKAGE AND ONCE THIS OCCURS THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO ANYMORE TO GET THE PACKAGE BACK SO MY ADVICE TO YOU IS TO ACT FAST TO ENABLE THE DELIVERY OF THE PACKAGE TO YOU.
THE NEW U.P.S EXPRESS DELIVERY MANAGER MRS. SANDRA HENRY AND ALSO A U.S CITIZEN CURRENTLY WORKING WITH UPS EXPRESS DELIVERY WILL ACT AS YOUR SHIPPING AGENT AND I EXPLAINED EVERYTHING TO HER AND SHE PROMISE TO ABIDE TO MY INSTRUCTION ON THE EXPRESS DELIVERY WHICH WILL TAKE ONLY 14 HOURS TO GET YOUR PACKAGE DELIVERED TO YOU.
THE CHARGE FEE REQUIRED TO ENABLE THE 14 HOURS EXPRESS DELIVERY WILL COST ONLY $38 AND THE FEE NEED TO BE PAID BEFORE THE DELIVERY SERVICE WILL BE RENDER THAT THE POLICY AND LAW OF THE UPS EXPRESS DELIVER AND YOU NEED TO ABIDE TO IT ALSO.
TRY YOUR BEST AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT THE FEE GET A LOAN TO ENABLE THE DELIVERY TODAY AND REMEMBER IF FURTHER DELAY OCCURRED THE PACKAGE WILL BE RETURNED BACK.
SEND ONLY $38 AND GET YOUR PACKAGE DELIVERED WITHIN 14 HOURS ONCE SHIPMENT COMMENCE.
USE THE INFORMATION BELOW TO SEND THE $38 VIA WESTERN UNION OR MONEY-GRAM MONEY TRANSFER TODAY TO ENABLE THE DELIVERY ONCE THE CHARGE FEE IS PAID.
RECEIVER NAME: MRS. SANDRA HENRY
ADDRESS: 12 SHIPPING STREET.
CITY: APAPA
STATE: LAGOS
COUNTRY: NIGERIA
ZIP CODE: 23401
TEXT QUESTION: GOOD
ANSWER: LUCK
ONCE PAYMENT IS MADE GET BACK TO ME WITH THE REQUIRED PAYMENT CONFIRMATION DETAILS SO I CAN FORWARD IT TO THE MRS. SANDRA TO ENABLE THE SHIPMENT IMMEDIATELY.
SENDER NAME:....?
MTCN NUMBER:....?
SENDER ADDRESS USED:...?
DESK OF ROBERT MUELLER FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
FBI.WASHINGTON DC
Know More About Me: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/executives/director
|
Anti-fraud resources:
