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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:
- "activation 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. )
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "cotonou" (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.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- mg.mg188@yahoo.fr (Yahoo, France; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: OFFICEFILE <arturs19936@inbox.lv>
Reply-To: mg.mg188@yahoo.fr
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 01:44:55 -0800
Subject: (no subject)
--
DEAR: CLIENT,
INFORMATION REACHING US FROM OUR CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS NOW, STATING
THAT
YOU ONLY HAVE 48HOURS TO SEND PAYMENT FOR THE
ACTIVATION OF YOUR PAYMENT MTCN TO ENABLE YOU CASH UP YOUR FIRST PAYMENT
OF
$7000.00USD FROM YOUR TOTAL (FUND) SINCE YOU ARE FINDING IT DIFFICULT TO
PAY THE AMOUNT REQUESTED EARLIER.
NOW WE HAVE DECIDED THAT YOU ARE TO GO AHEAD AND PAY ANY AMOUNT YOU HAVE
AT
HAND FOR THE ACTIVATION FEE SINCE YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO COME UP WITH THE
REQUIRED SUM AND THERE IS NO TIME LEFT.
CONTACT US WITH THIS EMAIL (MG.MG188@YAHOO.FR) YOU ARE TO PAY ANY AMOUNT
YOU HAVE AT HAND FOR THE ACTIVATION FEE NOW. WE WILL ACTIVATE YOUR MTCN
ONCE WE RECEIVE THIS PAYMENT.HERE ARE THE DETAILS OF THE PAYMENT BELOW.
SEND ANY AMOUNT THROUGH MONEY GRAM OFFICE WITH THE DETAILS GIVEING TO
YOU
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
RECEIVERS NAME EMEKAM JOHN
COUNTRY COTONOU BENIN REPUBLIC
AMOUNT ANY AMOUNT YOU HAVE AT HAND NOW.
TEXT QUESTIONS WHAT COLOR?
ANSWER GREEN
HOPE TO HERE FROM YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WITH THE MTCN NUMBER.
THANKS
DAVIS MARK
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