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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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "affidavit of claim" (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. )
- "million us dollars" (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)
- "we advice you" (this email uses bad English)
- "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "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.
- 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: "CEO MR. EMMANUEL EDWARD." <imf.worldregulatoryboard@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: imf_worldregulatoryboard@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2011 02:27:04 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: YOUR PAYMENT APPROVED!
IMF WORLD REGULATORY OFFICE
INTERNATIONAL FUNDS REGULATORY AUTHORITY
INTER-CONTINENTAL DEBT RECONCILIATION DEPT.
FROM THE DESK OF: HONORABLE MR. EMMANUEL EDWARD. DIRECTOR; IMF World Regulatory Office.
ATTENTION: PROVISION OF AFFIDAVIT OF CLAIM CERTIFICATE FOR LEGAL COVER/ PROTECTION OF US$15.5M IN FAVOR OF YOU TODAY IS ALREADY SATURDAY THE 22ND OF OCTOBER 2011 AND WE WANT TO BRING TO YOUR KIND AND HUMBLE NOTICE THAT A NEW BOARD OF DIRECTOR'S HAVE NOW TAKEN OVER THE AFFAIRS OF THIS OFFICE AND DURING OUR AUDITING WE FOUND OUT THAT YOUR FUND WORTH $15.5 MILLION US DOLLARS IS YET TO BE PAID TO YOU, THIS WAS A SHOCKING REVELATION TO THE NEW BOARD OF DIRECTOR'S. ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THIS REVELATION LENGTHY MEETING WAS HELD IMMEDIATELY BY THE NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS ON YOUR BEHALF AND IT WAS DECIDED IN YOUR OWN FAVOR AND BEST INTEREST TO REDUCE ALL REQUIRED PAYMENT FOR THE CLEARANCE AND AFFIDAVIT OF CLAIM CERTIFICATE FOR YOUR OVER DUE TRANSFER WORTH $15.5 MILLION TO ONLY THE SUM OF $120 SO THAT YOU CAN MEET UP WITH THE PAYMENT FOR YOUR TRANSFER TO BE EFFECTED AND RELEASED TO YOU INTO ANY BANK ACCOUNT OF YOUR CHOICE WHERE EVER IN THE WORLD THAT YOU
CHOOSE. PLEASE YOU ARE GIVEN ONLY 48HOURS TO DO THIS PAYMENT SO WE CAN CLEAR,RELEASE AND EFFECT YOUR FUND WORTH $15.5M US IN OUR CARE TO ANY BANK ACCOUNT OF YOUR CHOICE SO WE ADVICE YOU TO PAY THE $120 THROUGH THE WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER OR MONEY GRAM MONEY TRANSFER TO THE BELOW INFORMATION AND SEND THE PAYMENT DETAILS TO ME
RECEIVERS NAME: AMECHI OBECHE
RECEIVERS ADDRESS: COTONOU
COUNTRY:BENIN REPUBLIC
SENDERS NAME: ....................?
SENDERS ADDRESS:................................?
TEXT QUESTION: IN GOD
TEXT ANSWER: WE TRUST
AMOUNT: $120
M.T.C.N NUMBER: WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE ARE INDEED VERY VERY SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCES ANY DELAY THIS MUST HAVE CAUSED YOU IN HAVING YOUR FUND PAID OUT TO YOU LONG BEFORE NOW. THEREFORE, WE URGE YOU TO PLEASE GO AND SEND IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEND TO ME THE PAYMENT DETAILS IMMEDIATELY. ONCE YOU PAY THE FEE NOW AS ADVISED ABOVE, BE REST ASSURED THAT YOU WILL NEVER REGRET PAYING THE FEE THIS IS A PROMISE TO YOU AFTER ALL YOUR PAINS IN THE PAST.
WE ARE HERE TO SERVE YOU AS OUR WORD IS OUR BOND TO YOU.CONFIRM THE RECEIPT OF THIS E-MAIL BY YOU IMMEDIATELY AND BE REST ASSURED THAT YOU WILL BE SMILING TO YOUR BANK ONCE YOU COMPLY WITH THE ABOVE DIRECTIVES NOW. YOUR URGENT RESPONSE TO THIS E-MAIL NOW WILL GO A LONG WAY IN HELPING US ENSURE YOUR PAYMENT IS RELEASED TO YOU WITHIN 24HOURS OF YOU ACTING AS INSTRUCTED YOU NOW. RESPOND BACK IMMEDIATELY.
CEO MR. EMMANUEL EDWARD.
PHONE +22996846005
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