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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:
- "required fee " (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. )
- "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. )
- 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.
- 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.
- americaembassy302@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "FBI.WASHINGTON DC" <terry_hedges@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: americaembassy302@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:18:11 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: ****SPAM**** Robert S. Mueller, III Senior Office Department
Robert S. Mueller, III Senior Office Department
Federal Bureau Of Investigation FBI.WASHINGTON DC
Know More About Me:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/executives/director
I just received an update from Mr. EZEOBI HENRY this morning regarding the
shipping update of your package and he also told me he will assist you with
some part of the charge fee and this is the best he can do for now. I know you
have spent a lot recently but you need to know this is the last fee required
and once the fee is paid Mr. Dennis Next flight will be this evening and i want
him to act as your diplomat and deliver the package to you.
TRY YOUR BEST AND GET A LOAN OF $75 FROM A FRIEND OR RELATION AND PROMISE TO
PAY THEM BACK WITHIN 48 HOURS SO THIS TRANSACTION CAN COME TO AN END TODAY AND
ONCE THE CHARGE FEE IS PAID YOUR PACKAGE WILL BE DELIVERED TO YOU WITHIN THE
NEXT 48 HOURS. YOUR PACKAGE DETAILS A VISA CREDIT CARD WHICH CONTAIN $20
MILLION USD AND THE 2ND CONTAIN A VERIFIED BANK OF AMERICA CASHIER CHECK WHICH
CONTAIN $3 MILLION USD WITH ALL BACK UP DOCUMENT EVERYTHING WAS MADE IN YOUR
NAME AND ADDRESS AND THE PACKAGE INCLUDE AN INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO MAKE WITHDRAW
WORLD WIDE AND ALSO CASH-OUT THE CHECK WITHIN 20 HOURS BECAUSE IT IS VERIFIED
CASHIER CHECK.
Use the details below to send the fee $75 via western union to the U.S embassy
official agent Mr. EZEOBI HENRY once you receive this email so everything can
come to an end.
RECEIVER NAME:EZEOBI HENRY
CITY:COTOUNO
COUNTRY: BENIN REPUBLIC
TEXT QUESTION: LAND OF
ANSWER: HOPE
AMOUNT:$75
Contact this Email (americaembassy302@yahoo.co.uk) for the MTCN number.
Once payment is made get back to me with the required payment confirmation
details so i can forward it to him and i will instruct him to board the next
available flight once the required fee is paid. Await your reply and the
required payment confirmation details.
Robert S. Mueller, III Senior Office
Department Federal Bureau Of Investigation
FBI.WASHINGTON DC
Know More About Me: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/executives/director
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Anti-fraud resources: