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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. )
- "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. )
- "money transfer control number" (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. )
- "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "you are advise to" (this email uses bad English)
- "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.
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "westernunion.com" <marydakota2012@gmail.com>
Reply-To: western.union400@yandex.com
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 13:14:05 -0700
Subject: Payment Notification!
Western Union Money Transfer.
ATTN:
This is Mr. Anthony Robert, Director of Western Union Money Transfer
Federal Republic of Nigeria. I received your mail about your unpaid fund of
$1.500.000 USD which [Hon. Mr. K. Andem, instructed that we should be
sending bit by bit till your fund is paid in full. Already sum of
$10,000.00 has been remitted to your name with the following [Money
Transfer Control Number] known as MTCN: [9521748268]. MTCN# 839 417 1011
Its unfortunate that you cannot pick up the $5000.00 until you pay for our
re-instatement and Activation charges of $158.00 which we will use to
activate your payment files before you can start picking up your daily
amounts. We will be generating the MTCN for your daily pick up once you
send the Activation and re-instatement charges. Note that the senders name
of [ANTHONY ROBERT] is still the same and thats the name you will use to
pick up the fund within 30-minutes of paying the $158.00.
You are advise to send the Activation and re-instatement fees of $288.00
through Western Union Money Transfer to the following name:
Receiver Name: Okechukwu Emmanuel
Country: LAGOS, NIGERIA
Test Question: How Long
Test Answer: 30-Minutes
Amount: $158.00
Then send the following details to us after the amount is remitted:
Senders Name:
Senders Address:
Senders Telephone#:
Note: Upon confirmation of the Activation and re-instatement fees of
$158.00 within 30-minutes you will confirm your first payment of $10,000.00
and be rest assure that you will be receiving $10,000.00 everyday till the
total amount of yours is complete. Your urgent reply will be appreciated or
call on: [ +234 701 129 8238].
Thanks for being patient.
Mr Anthony.E.Robert
WUMT-STU Office Director
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