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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:
- 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. )
- "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: mrs patt <patt54@outlook.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 00:33:54 +0100
Subject: IN REGARD TO YOUR ATM MASTER CARD PACKAGE WITH U.P.S
IN REGARD TO YOUR ATM MASTER CARD PACKAGE WITH U.P.S I RECEIVED AN EMAIL ALERT FROM UPS IN REGARD TO YOUR PACKAGE WHICHHAVE BEEN WITH THEM FOR TWO WEEKS NOW AND THE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPINGAGENT IN CHARGE PLANNED TO RETURN YOUR PACKAGE TO THE FEDERAL MINISTRYOF FINANCE OF NIGERIA. THE TOTAL AMOUNT IN YOUR ATM MASTER CARDCONTAIN IS $10.5 MILLION USD AND THIS INCLUDE INTEREST RATE UP TILLDATE.THE MASTER CARD WAS PROGRAMMED TO HAVE ACCESS GLOBALLY WHICH YOUCAN MAKE WITHDRAW OR TRANSACTION IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD. IT SEEMS YOU DON'T WANT TO SHOW ANY SERIOUSNESS TOWARDS THE SHIPMENTOF YOUR PACKAGE THAT WHY HE WANT TO RETURN IT AND HE NEED PERMISSIONFROM ME FIRST BEFORE HE WILL RETURN THE PACKAGE. I ORDER HIM TO STOPAND I ALSO ASSURE HIM THAT I WILL MAKE SURE THE CHARGE FEE REQUIRED ISENABLE THE SHIPMENT FEE WHICH IS $65 WILL BE PAID AND THIS WILL BE THELAST FEE REQUIRED FROM YOU. IN REGARD TO YOUR ATM MASTER CARD PACKAGEWHICH WORTH $10.5 MILLION USD I WILL HELP YOU AND MAKE SURE YOURECEIVE IT AND MY INVESTIGATION SHOWS YOU HAVE SPENT A LOT RECENTLY INREGARD TO THIS PACKAGE AND THIS WILL BE THE LAST FEE. REMEMBER YOU HAVE SPENT A LOT TOWARDS THIS PACKAGE ONCE THE CHARGE FEEREQUIRED NOW IS PAID SHIPMENT WILL COMMENCE AND YOU WILL RECOVER ALLYOU HAVE SPENT RECENTLY. THE CHARGE FEE REQUIRED NOW IS NOT MUCH SOYOU WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE LAST FEE NEEDED WHICH IS $65 ONLY MYADVICE TO YOU IS TO GO AHEAD AND SEND THE CHARGE FEE VIA WESTERNUNION. THE WESTERN UNION INFORMATION BELOW BELONG TO OLAIYA EMEKA THEBRANCH MANAGER OF UPS INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING DEPARTMENT NIGERIA. THIS IS THE INFO TO SEND THE $65 AS BELOW RECEIVER NAME:EGEOLU DANELADDRESS LAGOS IN NIGERIATEXT QUESTION WHAT FORANSWER GOODAMOUNT:$65+2348103080473MTCN# YOUR SHIPMENT WILL COMMENCE ONCE THE CHARGE FEE IS PAID TODAY. AND ASSOON AS YOU MADE THE PAYMENT GET BACK TO ME WITH THE SENDER NAME????MTCN NUMBER???FULL SENDER ADDRESS USED:???TEXT QUESTION???ANSWER????AWAIT YOUR REPLY AND REMEMBER SHIPMENT WILL COMMENCE TODAY AND IT WILLTAKE ONLY 26 HOURS TO GET THE PACKAGE SHIPPED TO YOU. HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY BEST REGARDS,MRS PATT JOYCE BUTLEREMAIL ME ON: mscarm-lapointe2015@yandex.comTele: +2348103080473
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