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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:
- "atm payment department" (this phrase is often used in the ATM card payment scam)
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "executive governor" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "uba_b_benin@outlook.fr" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- 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 mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- 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.
- ubabankbenin53@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: John Carto <dabnando@tim.it>
Reply-To: uba_b_benin@outlook.fr
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2017 00:04:23 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: YOUR ATM VISA CARD
Attn:Our Customer
The Ministry Of Finance Benin Republic was notify us your Email and your
address as those that is paid to wrong people in Africa since past years and
your fund still remain unclaimed and after meeting held on 10th of July 2017.
The Executive Governor of Ministry Of Finance Benin Republic Dr.Felix Martins
has Instructed this UBA BANK Plc ATM Payment Department to code your total sum
of US$17.5M.Usd into ATM VISA CARD for Easy delivery to your destination
address for you to make use of your CARD in any ATM MACHINE around you.
Executive Governor of Ministry Of Finance Benin Republic Dr.Felix Martins have
paid the delivery fee of your ATM VISA Card,He paid it because the ATM VISA
Card of USD$17.5.million has no less than three WEEKS to expire and when it
expires,The money will go into Government purse.Because you have paid a lot of
money to wrong people which the Ministry Of Finance Benin Republic has decided
to help you pay the money so that the ATM VISA Card will not expire.
In view of that the United Bank for Africa ATM Payment Department want you to
pay only your re-activation fee of $95usd for immediate used of your CARD and
you will advised to send the money today so that your ATM VISA CARD will be re-
activate and get it delivered to your home address through Diplomatic System
without any further delay.
Please bear it in mind that there is no way the money can be deducted from the
card because that is against the law and you should be informed that the ATM
card and the pin code would be enclosed in the envelope and you can make.
withdrawals from the ATM CARD any moment you receive the parcel.
The Receivers Information for the $95usd is as follows: WESTERN UNION MONEY
GRAM or RIA MONEY TRANSFER
Receivers name:=====Frank Oji
Country: ===========Benin Republic
City:==============Cotonou
Text;Question:======When
Answer;=========== Today
Amount:============$95usd
Sender s name and Address=====
Reference, No;================
And you can also forward your full Address to avoid mistake on the Delivery of
your ATM VISA CARD
1.YOUR FULL NAMES:...........
1 BENEFICIARY NAME:..........
2 ADDRESS:...................
3 TEL PHONE:.................
4 OCCUPATION:................
5 COUNTRY:...................
6 SEX:.......................
As soon as payment is made, do send an email with the Reference numbers so that
we can proceed with dispatching of your parcel without wasting time. Be rest
assured that the $95usd is the only payment you will have to make for the
delivery of the ATM card and nothing more.
The ATM CARD re- activate charges is only $95usd and as soon as payment is
confirmed we shall immediately dispatch your parcel and email you with the DHL
tracking numbers so as for you to be able to track your parcel online and know
when it get to your home to receive it.
Yours faithful,
Regards,
Phone. +229-99-15-68-16
E-mail;uba_b_benin@outlook.fr
E_MAIL;ubabankbenin53@gmail.com
Mr.John Carto
UBA BANK Plc ATM Payment Department
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Anti-fraud resources:
