|
|
joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
|
|
"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. )
- 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.
- western_union.director@usa.com (Outblaze.com, Hong Kong; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
- to the director dr. paul robinson through (western_union.director@usa.com) (1) name________ (2) tel._________ (3) country____ (4) (Usa; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
- unwst@yandex.ru (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
- you can also contact us through: westn223@outlook.com unwst@yandex.ru wwst223@gmail.com wst.union@usa.com (Outlook; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
- wwst223@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
- contact us through: westn223@outlook.com unwst@yandex.ru wwst223@gmail.com wst.union@usa.com western_union.director@usa.com (Outlook; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: wWESTERN UNION<info@usa.org>
Reply-To: western_union.director@usa.com
Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2018 04:05:21 +0700
Subject: WELCOME TO WESTERN UNION USA.
HELLO DEAR
MY NAME IS DR. PAUL ROBINSON THE NEW DIRECTOR WESTERN UNION DEPARTMENT USA, AS I WAS GOING THROUGH ALL THE FILES AND DOCUMENTS IN MY OFFICE I REALIZED THE SUM OF ($25, 000, 000, 00) USD WON BY THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS OF YOURS IS STILL IN WESTERN UNION’S CUSTODY WHICH IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN OUR CUSTODY BY NOW.
THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS HAS EMERGED THE WINNER OF THE ANNUAL ELECTRONIC E-MAIL LOTTERY DRAW ORGANIZED BY WESTERN UNION TO SHOW GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION TO OUR NUMEROUS CUSTOMERS ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR THEIR PATRONAGE.
BUT UP TO THIS MOMENT THE FUND IS STILL IN WESTERN UNION CUSTODY AND IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE TRANSFERRED TO YOU BEFORE NOW BUT WE DIDN’T HEAR FROM YOU SINCE THEN.
FOR SECURITY PURPOSES YOU ARE REQUIRED TO RESEND YOUR INFORMATION TO THE DIRECTOR DR. PAUL ROBINSON THROUGH (western_union.director@usa.com)
(1) NAME________
(2) TEL._________
(3) COUNTRY____
(4) AGE_______
(6) CITY______
(7) OCCUPATION
YOU CAN ALSO CONTACT US THROUGH:
westn223@outlook.com
unwst@yandex.ru
wwst223@gmail.com
wst.union@usa.com
western_union.director@usa.com
western.info@accountant.com
chief-accountant.info@consultant.com
wst.union@usa.com
TEL: +16468512572
YOU ARE ADVISED TO CONTACT US TO ENABLE US PROCEED TO TRANSFER IMMEDIATELY
REGARDS
DR. PAUL ROBINSON
DIRECTOR
WESTERN UNION DEPARTMENT USA.
|
Anti-fraud resources:
