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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. )
- "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. )
- "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)
- "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: "From Mrs. Hudson Lopes" <san12verma@yahoo.co.in>
Reply-To: foreignpayfund@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2012 07:40:43 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: GOOD FRIDAY
DEAR DEBIT CARD OWNER,
IT IS INDEED A VERY GOOD FRIDAY FOR YOU
BECAUSE YOUR DEBIT CARD VALUED AT $15.5 MILLION US DOLLARS WHICH WILL BE
VALID FOR TWO GOOD YEARS HAS BEEN ISSUED AND FORWARDED TO MY DESK FOR
ONWARD DELIVERY TO YOU TODAY.
WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOUR ATM
CARD WILL NOT BE DELIVERED TO YOU IF YOU THE BENEFICIARY DO NOT PAY FOR
THE DISPATCH CHARGES OF $49.16 ONLY SO FIND IT VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU
THE OWNER OF THE DEBIT CARD PAY FOR THE SERVICES THAT WILL BE RENDERED
TO YOU, ALSO IT WILL NOT DO YOU ANY GOOD IF YOU DO NOT PAY THE $49.16 AS
YOUR DEBIT CARD WHICH IS IN OUR POSSESSION WILL BE DESTROYED BY FIRE
IF YOU FAIL TO PAY THE DISPATCH FEE AS YOU WILL BE SENDING US A WRONG SIGNAL THAT THE DEBIT CARD DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU.
BUT IF THE DEBIT CARD BELONGS TO YOU WE DO NOT SEE ANY REASON WHY YOU WILL NOT WANT TO PAY THE DISPATCH FEE OF ONLY $49.16.
TO
THIS END YOU ARE REQUIRED TO GO IMMEDIATELY YOU RECEIVE THIS E-MAIL NOW
AND PAY THE $49.16 THROUGH EITHER MONEY GRAM OR WESTERN UNION FOR
SPEEDY DISPATCHING AND DELIVERING OF YOUR DEBIT CARD TO YOUR HOME TODAY.
RECEIVERS NAME: THOMAS JOHN
RECEIVERS ADDRESS: LAGOS,NIGERIA.
QUESTION: GOOD
ANSWER: FRIDAY
MTCN NUMBER
AMOUNT: $49.16
SENDERS NAME:
SENDERS ADDRESS:
YOUR
DEBIT CARD WILL BE VALID FOR TWO YEARS AND YOU CAN DOWN LOAD TO CHECK
YOUR ACCOUNT BALANCE AND EVEN PAY FOR GOODS AND SERVICES FROM ANY ATM
MACHINE ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD.
GET THIS PAYMENT DETAILS
FORWARDED TO US IMMEDIATELY YOU RECEIVE THIS E-MAIL NOW FOR ONWARD
DISPATCH OF YOUR ATM DEBIT CARD TO YOUR HOME TODAY THIS GOOD FRIDAY.
FINALLY
IF YOU HAVE ANY REASON WHAT SO EVER TO CHANGE YOUR POSTAL OR HOME
ADDRESS WHERE YOU WISH TO HAVE YOUR ATM DEBIT CARD DELIVERED TO YOU
KINDLY LET US KNOW IN YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS E-MAIL NOW SO THAT THERE ARE
NO MISTAKES DURING DELIVERY.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
MRS. HUDSON LOPES.
OFFICE OF THE FOREIGN RESERVE,
FOREIGN DEPARTMENT.
NB: YOUR LIMIT OF WITHDRAWAL IS US$60,000.00 PER DAY.
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Anti-fraud resources:
