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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. )
- "consignment " (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
- "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.
- 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: "FROM THE U.S AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA" <gurunpa@coast.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: "FROM THE U.S AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA" <desk.top3@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:44:47 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Urgent
11 GARIK ROAD COTONOU
,BENIN
DEAR BENEFICIARY
FROM THE U.S AMBASSADOR TO BENIN
BE INFORMED THAT I HAVE RESOLVED WITH THE BENIN PRESIDENCY TO
DELIVER THE SUM OF US$10.5M BEING THE INTEREST FUND ACCRUED FROM YOUR
CONTRACT/INHERITANCE AND COMPENSATION FUND.
I SHALL BE COMING OVER TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING BY NEXT
WEEK AND I WILL BE BRINGING YOUR CONSIGNMENT CONTAINING THE FUND WHICH
HAS BEEN PACKAGED AND SEALED IN YOUR FAVOR BUT THIS TIME I WILL NOT GO
THROUGH CUSTOMS BECAUSE AS A U.S AMBASSADOR TO BENIN,
GOVERNMENT AGENT AND I HAVE THE VOTER POWER TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMS.I AM
SCHEDULED TO HAVE A MEETING WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATES BY NEXT
WEEK.
YOU ARE ADVICE TO SEND YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER AND THE ADDRESS WHERE
YOU WANT YOUR CONSIGNMENT/PACKAGE TO BE DELIVERED TO. I ALSO
UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE REALLY PAID SO MUCH WITHOUT GETTING ANYTHING
IN RETURN AS I WAS MADE TO UNDERSTAND AND THAT IS WHY I HAVE
PERSONALLY INTERVENED AND I MUST SAY THAT YOU ARE A VERY LUCKY PERSON
BECAUSE I SHALL BE BRINGING YOUR PACKAGE BY MYSELF AND THERE IS
NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT.
YOUR PACKAGE(US$10.5M} MUST BE REGISTERED AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE
FOR ME TO DEFEAT ALL ODDS AND THE COST OF REGISTERING IT IS $350.00.
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.
YOU SHOULD SEND THE FEE DIRECTLY TO THE CARGO REGISTRATION OFFICER
WITH THE INFO BELOW-
NAME -------------
ADDRESS -------- COTONOU BENIN
TEXT QUESTION ----- TO WHO
TEXT ANSWER ------- ME
AMOUNT-------------US$350
MY TRIP WILL BE BY MID WEEK 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 CONSIGNMENT PACKAGE.
VIEW MY IDENTITY AND GET BACK TO ME WITH THE PAYMENT INFORMATION.
TREAT AS URGENT,
MR.JAMES F.ENTWISTLE
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