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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:
- "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. )
- "i will advice you " (this email uses bad English)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- 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: "MRS.MICHELLE OBAMA" <unitytrust68@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrsmichelleobama619@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2015 07:46:14 -0700
Subject: FROM DESK OF MRS.MICHELLE OBAMA.
FROM DESK OF MRS.MICHELLE OBAMA.
Good Day to You..
I AM MRS.MICHELLE OBAMA AND AM WRITTEN TO INFORM YOU ABOUT YOUR ATM CARD
AND BANK CHEQUE DRAFT BROUGHT BY THE UNITED EMBASSY FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF
BENIN IN THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC WHICH CONTAINS THE SUM OF
$20.000.000 MILLIONS US DOLLARS CREDITED FROM THE BANK OF AMERICA.THE
DELIVERY OF YOUR FUNDS HAS BEEN MANDATED TO BE POSTED TO YOUR ADDRESS
TOMORROW TH OF 29 JUNE 2015 TO YOU AS SOON AS YOU GET BACK TO ME WITH YOUR
HOME ADDRESS AND YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBERS.
BEAR IN MIND THAT I HAVE TAKING MY TIME TO BE IN CHARGE OF YOUR FUNDS AS
INSTRUCTED BY MY HUSBAND TO ENSURE THAT YOU RECEIVED YOUR FUNDS
SUCCESSFULLY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TO REDUCE THE ECONOMY AND I'M THE ONLY
ONE THAT HAS YOUR FUNDS IN REGARD TO MY HUSBAND MR BARACK OBAMA AND YOU
WILL HAVE TO PAY THE SUM OF $66.00 ONLY BEFORE YOUR ATM CARD WILL BE
DELIVERED TO YOU TOMORROW.THE REASON WHY THE FEE IS REQUIRED IS TO HAVE
YOUR FUNDS CLEARANCE PAPER FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE FUNDS TO AVOID ANY
HARASSMENT FROM THE AUTHORITY AND YOU ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO BE ANNOUNCED AS
WINNER OF THE SAID AMOUNT BY FRIDAY AS SOON AS YOUR FUNDS IS DELIVERED TO
YOU.
SO YOU ARE URGENT ADVISED TO GET BACK TO ME WITH YOUR HOME ADDRESS AND ALSO
THE AYMENT INFORMATION TODAY FOR IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF YOUR DELIVERY.
PLEASE I WILL ADVICE YOU TO URGENT MAKE THE PAYMENT THIS MORNING VIA MONEY
GRAM OR WESTERN
UNION MONEY TRANSFER TO THE ABOVE LISTED CASHIER INFORMATION AS GIVEN.I
WILL LOOK FORWARD
TO RECEIVED YOUR EMAIL TODAY WITH THE PAYMENT TO ENABLE ME GET THE REQUIRED
CLEARANCE PAPERS REQUIRED AT WHITE HOUSE TO DELIVER YOUR FUNDS.NOTE THAT
THE FEE IS TO BE FORWARDED TO THE FUNDS ORIGIN AS INSTRUCTED AND TRY TO
MAKE THE PAYMENT THROUGH MONEY GRAM OR WESTERN UNION.
PLEASE FIND THE PAYMENT DATA BELLOW.ADDRESS......NO8871 IMF STREET COTONOU
BENIN REPUBLIC SEND IT VIA WESTERN UNION OR MONEY GRAM.
RECEIVER NAME....... KEN OBUM
COUNTRY......BENIN REPUBLIC.
CITY......COTONOU
QUESTION.....GOD
ANSWER.......BLESS
AMOUNT.....$66.00
I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR RESPOND TO YOUR EMAIL WITH THE PAYMENT TODAY.
REGARD
MRS.MICHELLE OBAMA
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