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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. )
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- "cheques " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- 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: "HOLT STILL LTD" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mikelamimilla7@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2014 06:28:57 -0700
Subject: Job Opportunity?,?
Job Opportunity.
Our Company (HOLT STILL LTD) is looking for a middle man from the USA and Canada.We have many buyers from the two countries but we always having problem in receiving and clearing international Cheques and the tax involved in such is much so sometimes after receiving international Cheques and clearing it take us up to a month and also we pay
high tax to clear such.
So after or Board Meeting yesterday, we decided to get a middle man whom his or her work will be only to receive cheque
from our customers and clear it there in USA or Canada we will ask you how to send it to us either via western Union or
account and you will be entitled to 15% of any amount you received for us from our customers.
It is a very easy work which cannot stop you from your present work and you can work from home, it is only to receive
cheque from our customers cash it from your bank and send to us and get 15% of the amount you received for us.
Please you can get back for more details if you are interested in this job and also if you have already understood what you have said here, we require a copy of your CV and copy if your ID card in a full photo for documentations and we
will also issue you and official ID card from our company.
We look forward to hearing from you soonest with your details.
Thanks
Mike
sales Manager
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Anti-fraud resources:
