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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:
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "activation fee" (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. )
- "moneygram" (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. )
- "mtcn" (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 transfer control number" (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. )
- "transfer of your funds" (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)
- "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.
- 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: "MRS.SUSAN DAVID" <"www."@fuga.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: "MRS.SUSAN DAVID" <williamobiano62@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2017 08:06:22 +0900 (JST)
Subject: ATTENTION Dear Customer.
ATTENTION Dear Customer.
From Money Gram Office
we sent you mail on January 28th 2017 and no respond so now
we do apologize for our late response.I am Mario Jude the
Foreign Operation Director of Money Gram office Benin Republic.The
transfer of your funds will commenced today with your first payment of
$5000.00.What is required from you is $75 for activation fee of your Money
Gram
Transfer code for all your transfers and this payment must be made to
this office before the payment will be release from the with-holding order
for onward payment to you as can be seen on the tracking detail on the
Money Gram site; https://secure.moneygram.com/track
Money Transfer Control Number REFERENCE
MTCN...26046856
Sender first name::: Ezennia
Sender last name:::Joiner
Amount:$5000.00
All necessary documents covering your funds with will be released to
your country's IRS and Homeland Security office. towards clearance and tax
remit with the IRS.
Please I will like you to give me a call on + 229-9869-7273 as soon as you
send the $75.00 to avoid delays on this transaction as we do not wish to have
a differ payments on this first quarter of the year, so to finalize all your
payment totaling $4.5 M .You are to send the fee using the name of our cashier
Receiver Name___Jude Nze
Country___Benin Republic
City___Cotonou
Amount___$75
Reference Number
Sender's Name
REGARDS
Mario Jude
©2017 Money Gram.
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