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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. )
- 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: Shannon McAuliffe <shannonmcauliffe@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: shannonmcaulife@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2013 07:55:25 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Urgent help...Shannon McAuliffe
Good day,
I'm sorry to disturb you with this. I made an urgent trip to france but did not tell anyone about it, unfortunately i got defrauded and I was also robbed by my supposed business associate. They took everything from me and even try beating me up, I don't have any money with me and I also lost my phone and all my contacts, right now I'm stranded in france.
The police are already investigating it and i've also contacted the embassy and they are willing to let me fly back without a passport because I also lost my passport to them. I need to return back home as soon as possible before my situation gets worse because I'm in a critical condition.
I don't want to tell much people about my situation to avoid much worry and panic among my close family and friends. Please I need you to lend me some money to be able to cover some expenses and fly back home. I need about $1,850 but any amount you can afford will be appreciated, I will re-imburse you as soon as I get home.let me know if you can help me so I will forward you the details you need to send the money through western union because its the fastest way for me to get money now.
Please make this confidential.
Best Regards
Shannon McAuliffe
Harvard Kennedy School
MC-MPA Class of 2013
Shannon_McAuliiffe@hks13.harrvard.edu
Cell 617.899.3399
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Anti-fraud resources:
