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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. )
- 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.
- alsaidaicha@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Aicha" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <alsaidaicha@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2016 08:28:12 +0200
Subject: Kind Greetings Esteemed Beneficiary,
BANK WESTERN UNION AND MONEY GRAM REGIONAL COMMAND HEADQUARTERS,
ATTN: UNCLAIMED FUND NOTIFICATION.
I WISH TO BRING TO YOUR NOTICE THAT YOUR FILE WAS BROUGHT TO MY DESK
YESTERDAY AND AS THE NEWLY APPOINTED PAYEE MASTER GENERAL. IN RESPONDING TO
YOUR FILE, I HAVE TRIED TO REACH YOU VIA EMAIL TO ENSURE THAT YOUR
OUTSTANDING
FUND IS PAID TO YOU WITHIN THE NEXT TWO DAYS. I WILL ADVISE YOU TO REPLY
TODAY WITH YOUR
DIRECT TELEPHONE NUMBER AND OTHER RECEIVING INFO SO THAT I CAN DISCUSS
WITH YOU DIRECTLY ON HOW YOU WISH TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND USD$25MILLION.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT THE OFFICE IN CHARGE MR. RICHARD HILLARY
EMAIL ADDRESS:( alsaidaicha@gmail.com)
NAME .MR. RICHARD HILLARY
YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO E-MAIL HIM WITH YOUR FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
FULL NAME: ___________
FULL MAILING INFO: __________
YOUR CELL PHONE LINE: ___________
COUNTRY: ______________
AGE /GENDER__________
OCCUPATION_______________
FULL ADDRESS_________
I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR PROMPT RESPONSE IN THIS REGARD.
BEST REGARD MRS.
LILLIAN DAVID
KIND GREETINGS ESTEEMED BENEFICIARY,
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Anti-fraud resources:
