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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:
- "tax 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. )
- "international remittance department" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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: "UNION BANK WIRE TRANSFER DEPARTMENT" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <unionbank59@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 08:55:36 -0700
Subject: DONT DELAY YOU HAVE THIS ONLY CHANCE TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND AND BE RICH
RE: DON’T DELAY YOU HAVE THIS ONLY CHANCE TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND AND BE RICH
FIND ATTACHED A SAMPLE OF YOUR FUND TRANSFER SLIP WHICH I JUST PRINTED FOR YOU TO KNOW THAT IF YOU PAY THIS ONLY NEEDED NON-RESIDENTIAL TAX FEE AS NON-CITIZEN OF NIGERIA THAT I WILL PERSONALLY TRANSFER YOUR US$10.5 MILLION USD TO YOUR ACCOUNT AND SEND YOU THE ORIGINAL TRANSFER SLIP THAT WILL INDICATE ALL THE TRANSFER ANALYSES WHICH YOU WILL TAKE TO YOUR BANK FOR THE CONFIRMATION OF YOUR FUND IN YOUR ACCOUNT.
DON’T DELAY YOU HAVE THIS ONLY CHANCE TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND AND BE RICH.
YOURS SINCERELY,
MR. EMEKA CHIGOZE
DIRECTOR WIRE TRANSFER/INTERNATIONAL REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT
DIRECT LINE: +2348127802068
Sent from union bank plc
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Anti-fraud resources:
