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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "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 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.
- usembassy20013@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "AMBASSADOR JAMES F. ENTWISTLE" <teresaisaliar.77.961@gmail.com>
Reply-To: usembassy20013@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 25 May 2015 14:30:18 +0100
Subject: U.S AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA
*U.S AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIAWINFIELD HOUSEMINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY TO THE
COURT OF ST. JAMES'SAMBASSADOR JAMES F. ENTWISTLEEMAIL----{
usembassy20013@gmail.com <usembassy20013@gmail.com> }ATTENTION,AFTER AN
OFFICIAL MEETING HELD WITH THE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA AND MINISTER OF FINANCE
CONCERNING UNPAID AND UNCLAIMED FUNDS TO FOREIGN BENEFICIARIES, JUST LIKE
YOU. I WAS VERY MUCH ANNOYED WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT YOU PAID MUCH MONEY YET
YOU NEVER RECEIVE YOUR FUNDS.THAT IS WHY I DECIDED TO HELP YOU.I SHALL BE
COMING TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING AND I WILL BE BRINGING YOUR
ATM CARD WORTH THE $7.5MILLION USD ALONG WITH ME THROUGH UNITED STATES
DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO YOUR COUNTRY.BUT THIS TIME I WILL NOT GO THROUGH
CUSTOMS BECAUSE AS AN USA AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA, I AM A USA GOVERNMENT
AGENT AND I HAVE THE VETO POWER NOT TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMS.AS SOON AS I AM
THROUGH WITH THE MEETING I SHALL THEN PROCEED TO YOUR HOME..(SEND YOUR
INFORMATION:1. YOUR FULL NAME2. CELL PHONE NUMBER3. ADDRESS WHERE YOU WANT
ME TO BRING THE PACKAGE).YOU HAVE REALLY PAID SO MUCH IN THIS DELIVERY THAT
MAKES ME WONDER. YOU ARE A VERY LUCKY PERSON BECAUSE I SHALL BE BRINGING IT
MYSELF AND THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT.YOUR ATM VISA CARD WORTH
THE SUM OF ($7.5M USD) MUST BE REGISTERED AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE FOR
ME TO DEFEAT ALL ODDS AND THE COST OF REGISTERING IT IS $155.THE FEE MUST
BE PAID IN THE NEXT 50 HOURS VIA WESTERN UNION SO THAT ALL NECESSARY
ARRANGEMENT CAN BE MADE BEFORE TIME WILL BE AGAINST US.SEND THE FEE VIA
MONEY GRAM OR WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER:RECEIVER'S NAME: PETER
IKEADDRESS: LAGOS, NIGERIAAMOUNT: $155TEST QUESTION: BEANSWER: GOODAS SOON
AS YOU SEND THE FEE MAKE SURE YOU SEND ME THE PAYMENT INFORMATION. I SHALL
TELL YOU MY FLIGHT SCHEDULE.PLEASE GO THROUGH MY WEBSITE AND READ
BIOGRAPHY:http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/biography.html
<http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/biography.html>MY FLIGHT IS WEDNESDAY AND I
EXPECT YOU TO COMPLY BEFORE THEN SO THAT THE DELIVERY CAN BE COMPLETED. IF
YOU DO NOT COMPLY, THEN IT WILL NOT BE MY FAULT IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR
PACKAGE EMAIL ME AT U.S AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIAAMBASSADOR JAMES F.
ENTWISTLEEMAIL----{ usembassy20013@gmail.com <usembassy20013@gmail.com> }*
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Anti-fraud resources:
