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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "million dollars" (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 advise to" (this email uses bad English)
- "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.
- MoneyGram money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. Along with Western Union it is a preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
Fraud email example:
From: Frank Eboney <eboneyfrank@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 2015 01:49:11 -0800
Subject: Urgency From Presidency
This is to notify you that your fund has been approved for immediate
release to your
doorstep. A new agent have also been assignment to carry out this delivery
immediately and
you are advise to respond back to us immediately with your address for the
delivery and
your direct contact number where you can be reached.
This is as a result of the just concluded meeting which we held with the
United Nation
Organization /World bank and they also paid all the pending fee and the new
agent have just
arrive to complete the delivery of your fund valued $1 One Million Dollars.
This is to take
place immediately or your fund will be send back to United Nation according
to the
instruction given to you.
Your only obligation is the ORIGINAL COPY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CLEARANCE
CERTIFICATE which
has to be procured immediately to enable the agent complete the delivery in
the morning.
The cost for this certificate is $150 which has to be send to the
department to issue it
through money gram transfer with this information:
Receiver Name:Obeche Justin
City: Lagos
Country: Nigeria
Text: What Colour?
Answer: Green
Make sure you send us the Transfer Code/ number, and sender's name after
sending the money
including your address and contact number. Understand that this your
opportunity to
receive your fund which only comes but ones.
You can also reach Mr. Roy Newman the new agent on 315-217-1908 He has only
three days to
handle this delivery so make sure you do not fail before Monday morning.
Mr Frank Eboney
National Security Adviser to the President
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Anti-fraud resources:
