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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. )
- "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. )
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "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: "Mr.Patrick Nelson" <"www."@muse.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: "Mr.Patrick Nelson" <npatrick482@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2017 06:24:40 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Attention Please Contact Him (202) 956-4182
Attention please
It is the pleasure of this office to inform you that your ATM debit
card number;(0000366866) has been approved and upgraded in your
favor.Meanwhile,your secret PIN number is (8855) and your ATM card
value the sum of ( US$ 4.5MILLION USD only) as mentioned above. Be
advised that a maximum withdrawal value of $10,000 is permitted daily
and it was duly inter-switched and you can make withdrawal in any
location of the ATM machine of your choice/nearest to you also The Atm
card is activated.
Note: that We have conclude all the necessary arrangement regarding
the delivery of your ATM card to your doorstep via DHL COURIER
COMPANY,which will only cost you the sum of $105 Dollar being the
official courier delivery fees.You are advice in your favor to send
the required delivery fees of (us$105) to this office immediately as
to enable us register your ATM card worth the sum of US$4.5million
with DHL COURIER COMPANY here for onward delivery to your doorstep
within 48 hours.
SEND THE DELIVERY FEES OF $105 VIA WESTERN UNION OR MONEY GRAM OFFICE
WITH THE BELLOW INFORMATION;
Receiver Name :: mark chris
Country Benin Republic
City Cotonou
Text Question God?
Answer bless
amount $105 Dollar only
Then get back to us with below information.
MTCN .................
Your Sender Name.........
I promised to serve you in total honesty and loyalty.I assure you that
as soon as you are able to provide the $105 your money.
As soon as payment is made, do send an email with the Digit MTCN
numbers so that we can proceed with dispatching of your parcel without
wasting time. Be rest assured that the $105 Dollar is the only payment
you will have to make for the delivery of the parcel and nothing more.
Yours Sincerely
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