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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. )
- "you are advise to" (this email uses bad English)
- "western_union28@outlook.com" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Cynthia Samuel" <samuelcynthia0012@gmail.com>
Reply-To: western_union28@hotmail.com
Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2022 11:17:58 +0100
Subject: Reply urgently for pickup your payment
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Attention beneficiary fund,
I am hereby writing to inform you that your first payment of $5000 USD
has been released today through western union international money
transfer office here, so you are advise to Contact our western union
operator Mr Wilson Fowler with your full details information for
picking up your fund from western union near your area, you can fill
the form below;
Your name......
Your country.....
Your phone number..
Your adders......
Kindly send your address to enable him to send your first Payment of
$5000 USD today, for more information contact Mr Wilson Fowler. Email
western_union28@outlook.com he will keep sending your payment until
your total the amount of seven million nine hundred thousand dollar
($9.500,000,00 USD) is Completed picked up by you through western
union worldwide.
Best Regards
Mrs Samuel Cynthia.
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Anti-fraud resources:
