joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days
  jwSpamSpy

Home
About Us
Spam
419/Nigeria
Fraud
Contact

"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:

Fraud email example:

From: Western Union <malsoudi@economy.ae>
Reply-To: <westernunionkh@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2015 12:03:47 -0700
Subject: Re: Payment Sent!

Dear Western Union Beneficiary,
Your transaction of 1,500,000.00 USD has been approved by UNITED NATIONS (UN)
in their on going poverty alleviation program 2015 and we have been instructed
to start sending you 7,600.00 USD daily using our Western Union system. Send
details Full Name, Address, and Phone Number to Mrs. Key Young at: Email:
wupc12@outlook.com for more information on your transaction status
SPECIAL NOTICE : All E-mail response should be sent to her for
confirmation and payment approval.

Yours truly
Mrs. Key Young,
Western Union Cambodia

MOE Site: www.economy.ae

This email and any attachments are sent in confidence, subject to applicable legal privilege and upon the basis that the recipient will conduct appropriate virus checks. If you receive this email in error, please telephone us upon receipt: you are strictly prohibited from using, copying or disseminating it or any information contained in it, save to the intended recipient. Internet communications are not secure and Ministry of Economy. is not responsible for their abuse by third parties, nor for any alteration or corruption in transmission, nor for any damage or loss caused by any virus or other defects.
 Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

Anti-fraud resources: