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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. )
- "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. )
- "million us dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- 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: NELSON WILLIAMS <upscouriercompany985@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: NELSON WILLIAMS <ubabank619@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2014 17:48:12 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: GOOD NEWS//YOUR FREE ONLINE PAYMENT VIA UBA BANK OF AFRICA
WE GOT AN INSTRUCTION FROM INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDS(IMF) BENIN REPUBLIC TO RELEASE YOUR PAYMENT FREE SINCE YOU HAVE TRIED IN MANYWAY WITH OUT GETTING IT DONE, AM WRITING TO INFORMED YOU THAT YOUR FUNDS $9.4MILLION US DOLLARS IS NOW TRANSFERRED TO YOU THIS MORNING THROUGH ONLINE BANKINGSYSTEM UBA BANK OF AFRICA SERVICE BENIN REPUBLIC,  AND EVERY NECESSARY ARRANGEMENT TO TRANSFER YOUR TOTAL FUNDSOF $9.4 MILLION US DOLLARS TO YOU HAS BEEN MADE SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT YOU PAYINGANY CHARGE UNTIL YOU RECEIVED YOUR FUNDS TO YOU SINCE YOU ARE FINDING ITDIFFICULT TO RECEIVE YOUR FUNDS SINCE THROUGH WESTERN UNION, MONEY GRAM, DHL ETC. THEREFORE, YOUR FUNDS WILL BE RELEASE TO YOU WITHIN 24HRS YOU LOGIN ACCURATELYWITH OUT ANY DELAY, FOR YOUR INFORMATION YOU WILL NOT PAY ANY THING FOR THISFUND RELEASE ORDER FROM INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDS (IMF) BECAUSE THEY MADE ITVERY CLEAR THAT ANY BENEFICIARY WHO DID NOT RECEIVE HIS/HER OWN FUNDS SINCEWILL NOT PAY ANY THING TO RECEIVE HIS/HER FUNDS THIS TIME SO YOU CAN VIEW YOURPAYMENT ONLINE BY OPEN THE ATTACHED FILE AND LOGIN YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNTACCURATELY. OPEN THE ATTACHED FILE TO VIEW YOUR PAYMENT ONLINE. JUST OPEN THE ATTACHED FILE AND LOGIN ACCURATELY TO VIEWYOUR PAYMENT ONLINE. THANKSMR. NELSON WILLIAMSTHE MANAGER OF UBA BANKOF AFRICA BENIN REPUBLIC.
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Anti-fraud resources:
