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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:
- "clearance 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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Dr. Norbert Reithofers" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <Pualpeter1211@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 16:26:11 -0800
Subject: ATTENTION:
ATTENTION:
WE HAVE RECEIVED YOUR INFORMATIONS REGARDING YOUR ATM CARD AS THE BENEFICIARY AND IT IS WELL UNDERSTOOD WITHOUT ANY DEFAULT.
THE DOCUMENTATIONS OF YOUR ATM CARD HAS BEEN SCAN TO YOU WITH 100% ASSURANCE WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM BY PRESIDENT ORDER INCLUDING MY ID CARD FOR CONFIRMATION.
THE UNITED NATION(UN) HAS GIVEN OUT CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE FOR YOU ATM CARD WITH THE SUM OF 250USD FOR CONFIRMATION TO ENABLE THE DELIVERYMAN COMMENCE YOUR ATM CARD TO YOUR HOME ADDRESS WITHIN 48HOURS WITHOUT ANY DEFAULT.
THIS IS THE PAYMENT DETAILS.
RECEIVER NAME: JOY JAMES
SENDER NAME:
SENDER ADDRESS:
COUNTRY: NIGERIA
CITY: LAGOS
AMOUNT SENT: 250USD.
TEXT QUESTION: A?
TEXT ANSWER: B.
MTCN: WESTERN UNION CONTROL NUMBERS IN THE PAYMENT SLIP.
WE ASSURE YOU WITH 100% ASSURANCE THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR ATM CARD WITHIN 48HOURS IMMEDIATELY THE CLEARANCE FEE OF 250USD IS CONFIRMED BY JOY JAMES THE ACCOUNT OFFICER AND YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED AS THE BENEFICIARY OF THE TRANSACTION.
WE AWAIT YOUR SWIFT RESPONSE IMMEDIATELY.
YOURS SINCERELY
DR IBRAHIM LAMODE
EFCC CONTROLLER AGENT.
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Anti-fraud resources:
