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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. )
- 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: "Mr. George West" <georgewest192@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: <georgewest190@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2015 22:31:18 -0800
Subject: FROM Mr. George West
The Executive Officers and Presidents of B2B, have agreed with the body of United Nations Agency to compensate all B2B and B2C scammed victims, this letter is to notify you about your compensation as one of the scammed victim that sent money via Bank Transfer, Western Union Money Transfer and Money Gram to fraudsters.
We found your email address and name in our data base and that is why we are contacting you.This have been agreed upon and has been approved by Mr. James Comey the Director of the Federal Bureau of investigation (FBI) to compensate you with the sum of 1.850,000,00(One million Eight Hundred and fifty Thousand Euros ) as one of the scam victim. You are hereby advised to acknowledge this mail and help us to reconfirm your identity for security reasons. Kindly acknowledge the receipt of this email as soon as you receive it so that we can commence the processing of your payment. This email and plans must be handled with care and make sure only you alone is involved. This is to guide against someone else posing to be you in your absence. We will not take responsibility for any mistake or lapses caused as a result of your carelessness.
Yours faithfully,
Mr. George West
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