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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:
- "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. )
- "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.
Fraud email example:
From: DIPLOMATIC MARK WILLIAMS <rev_kelvinmozie301@yahoo.fr>
Reply-To: williamsmark669@yahoo.fr
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:53:00 +0100 (BST)
Subject: CALL ME HERE TO LET ME KNOW THAT YOU HAVE SENT THE FEE, (770 666 63 57)
GOOD
MORNING I AM DIPLOMAT MARK WILLIAMS,,
REMEMBER
TO CHANGE YOUR EMAIL PASSWORD BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN LONG I AM SENDING YOU AN
EMAIL BUT NO RESPOND SO I HOPE SOME ONE HOLDS YOUR PASSWORD ID EMAIL, TRY
CHANGE IT IMMEDIATELY BEFORE RESPONDING FOR THIS MESSAGE,
HOW IS
EVERYTHING AND YOUR FAMILY IS NOW OVER TWO DAYS THAT I HAVE BEEN WITH U.S.A
CUSTOMS WHERE I WAS ARRESTED THAT I DO NOT HAVE A DELIVERY CLEARANCE PAPER AT MELBOURNE
INTERNATIONAL AIR PORT (MLB) FLORIDA U.S.A BUT I THANK GOD THAT THEY HAVE
RELEASED ME TODAY WITH YOUR PACKAGE WORTH THE SUM OF $4.8MILLION U.S.A DORLLARS
BUT THEY NEVER KNOW THAT IT CONTENTS LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY.
SO IT IS
THIS MORNING THAT THEY RELEASED ME WITH YOUR FUNDS. YOU ADVICE TO RECONFIRM
YOUR INFORMATION AND AGAIN YOU HAVE TO PAY THE SUM OF $99.00 FOR BILL OF
LANDING PAPERS THEY SAID THAT IF I DO NOT HAVE IT THAT I WILL NOT ENTER FLIGHT
TO YOUR HOME OR TAXI SO SEND THE FEES TO BENIN REPUBLIC WHERE I CAME FROM THEY
WILL GET THE BILL OF LANDING PAPERS ASAP AND FORWARD TO ME HERE AND IT WILL NOT
TAKE MORE THAN 4 HRS I WILL GET TO YOUR HOME ONCE YOU SEND THE FEES.
CALL ME
HERE TO LET ME KNOW THAT YOU HAVE SENT THE FEE, (770 666 63 57)
HERE IS
THE INFORMATION TO SEND IT.
RECEIVERS
NAME.........HYCIENT OBALIM
COUNTRY...........BENIN
REPUBLIC.
CITY.........COTONOU.
AMOUNT........$99.00
QUESTION
TEXT ..HOW LONG.
TEXT
ANSWER ANSWER.......FEW HRS ARRIVAL.
SENDERS
NAME.....
MTCN........
PLEASE IT
IS THIS MORNING THAT THEY HAVE RELEASED ME AND I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE ANY MORE
LONG HERE AND I WILL DELIVER YOUR FUNDS IN 2 HRS TIME ONCE YOU SEND THE FEES TO
THE MAN IN CHARGE. DO THAT FAST SO THAT THEY CAN NOT LOOK OVER THIS PACKAGE TO
KNOW THE CONTENTS.
THANKS
DIPLOMATIC MARK WILLIAMS
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Anti-fraud resources:
