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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. )
- "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: "U.P.S OFFICE" <gan_shiv2004@yahoo.co.in>
Reply-To: u.p.s.office@post.com
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2012 12:19:50 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: ATTENTION:YOUR PACKAGE DELIVERY BY 5:30 PM TOMORROW.
 IN REGARD TO YOUR MASTER CREDIT CARD PACKAGE WITH U.P.S HELLO:
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 I OFFICIALLY WRITE TO YOU BASED ON THE TOTAL COLLECTION OF YOUR PACKAGE DELIVERY BY 5:30 PM TOMORROW.
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 HOWEVER I HEREBY DRAW TO YOUR NOTICE THAT YOU HAVE TO GET YOUR PACKAGE INSURED AGAINST ANY GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY AND ALSO TO PROTECT YOUR FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT (FHR) AS SOON AS YOUR PACKAGE IS BEEN DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR STEP.
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 SO YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR PACKAGE MUST BE INSURED BEFORE THE DELIVERY CAN TAKE PLACE TODAY, BUT FAILING TO GET THE PACKAGE INSURED YOU WILL NOT BE GETTING THE PACKAGE AS WAS SCHEDULED TO BE DELIVERED TOMORROW BY 5:PM.
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 SO THEREFORE WE HAVE SENT A SIGNAL TO THE CUSTOM AND ALSO YOUR SENDER’S AGENT TOWARDS THIS NEW DEVELOPMENT, AND TO YOUR INFORMATION THIS INSURANCE WILL COST YOU SUM TOTAL OF $96 USD.
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 IT HAS BEEN TO OUR NOTICE THAT YOUR PACKAGE CONTAINS GLOBAL ATM MASTER CARD AND IF YOU FAIL TO GET THE CARD INSURANCE YOU CAN NOT BE ABLE TO USE THE CARD ONCE IT IS BEEN DELIVERED TO YOU., JUST UNDERSTAND THAT THIS INSURANCE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ENABLE YOU ACCESS YOUR PACKAGE FROM ANY GLOBAL ATM CARD CENTER AND SHOPPING OUTLETS AS SOON AS IS BEEN DELIVERED TO YOU,
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 YOU ARE EXPECTED TO SEND THE PAYMENT VIA WESTERN UNION WITH THE PAYMENT INFORMATION STATED BELOW.
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 NAME: FELIX UBAKA
 ADDRESS: LAGOS - NIGERIA
 TEXT QUESTION: GOOD
 TEXT ANSWER: BETTER
 AMOUNT: $96 USD ONLY
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MTCN:.................?
 SENDER'S NAME……………………?
 SENDER’S ADDRESS...................?
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 YOU ARE THE DELAY TO YOUR PACKAGE DELIVERY, SO THE EARLIER THE BETTER YOU ACT VERY FAST.
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 BEST REGARDS,
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 MR.MUSTAFA JAMES
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Anti-fraud resources:
