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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "moneygram" (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. )
- "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.
- MoneyGram money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. Along with Western Union it is a 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.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- officemoneygram64@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Mr nelson udo <umrnelson@yahoo.cn>
Reply-To: officemoneygram64@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2013 23:47:13 +0800 (CST)
Subject: YOUR MONEY IS IN MONEY GRAM OFFICE NOW
OFFICE
OF THE MONEY GRAM TRANSFER.
COTONOU BENIN REPUBLIC/ADDRESS 455 AGBOKOU,ANKPA
ROADOPPOSITE TUNDE MOTORS COTONOU
TEL+229-68464849
ATTENTION
WE THE MONEY GRAM URGENT REMITTING
OFFICE HAVE SENT YOUR FULL COMPENSATION PAYMENT OF $,2.5Million USD TO YOU
THROUGH MONEY GRAM, YOU WILL BE RECEIVING $10,000.00USD PER DAY. NOW WE HAVE
SEND THE FIRST PAYMENT TO YOU. SO CONTACT OUR DIRECTOR Mr. Paddy Moris. AND ASK
HIM TO GIVE YOU THE MONEY GRAM PAYMENT INFORMATION SO THAT YOU CAN BE ABLE TO
PICK UP YOUR FUNDS THROUGH MONEY GRAM WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM.
HERE IS THE
CONTACT INFORMATION OF MONEY GRAM
DIRECTOR GENERAL :Mr. Paddy Moris.
EMAIL
ADDRESS : (officemoneygram64@yahoo.com.hk)
PHONE NUMBER :+229
68464849
THEN CONTACT HIM WITH YOUR FULL INFORMATION.
Receiver
name
:__________
Country:_________________
City:____________________
Test
question:___________
Answer:__________________
Telephone
number:________
CALL OR EMAIL
HIM NOW SO THAT HE CAN PROVIDE THE MONEY GRAM INFORMATION TO YOU AS URGENT AS
YOU CAN.
THANKS AND GOD BLESS "U"
Mr Nelson
Udo
Kindly
get back to
me.
Thanks
Mr Paddy Moris
Director Money Gram
MoneyGram
Payments
Registered 2009 - 2010 Money Gram Money Transfer. All
Right Reserved This email is intended for the named recipient only
and may contain privilage and confidential information. If you have received
this email in error, please notify us immediately. Please do not disclose the
contents to anyone or copy it to outside.
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Anti-fraud resources:
