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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:
- "stamp duty" (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. )
- "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: "INHERITANCE PAYMENT NOTICE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <xvp.embassyus.mcculley@qatar.io>
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:09:39 +0100
Subject: INHERITANCE PAYMENT NOTICE
DEAR SIR,
WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT THE STAMP DUTY FEE HAS BEEN REDUCED TO $50 TO ALLOW
BENEFICIARIES SOME FORWARD TO CLAIM THERE FUND WHICH THEY OFTEN ABANDONED DUE TO
HUGE SUM CHARGE ON THE FEES AND TAXES.
YOU ARE HEREBY ADVICED TO SEND THE FEE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT YOUR FUND COULD BE
DELIVER TO YOU WITHOUT ANY DELAY.
SEND THE FEE VIA WESTERN UNION TO :
MR MARTIN MADU
TEST QUESTION == STAMP
ANSWER == DUTY
LAGOS NIGERIA.
I WILL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO HEAR FROM YOU.I HEREBY ATTACHED SCANNED COPY OF MY WORK
ID FOR YOUR PERUSAL.
REGARDS,
MR TERENCE P MCCULLEY
USA ENVOVY TO NIGERIA.
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Anti-fraud resources:
