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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:
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: brebera.bukovec@seznam.cz
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:42:16 +0100 (CET)
Subject: =?us-ascii?Q?Re=3A=20ATTENTION=20MR=2E=20RUDOLF?=
Dear Michael,
I am very glad to hear from you. I am ready to send you the required money but I prefere to meet you in person in London and we can go to pick up the certificate of origin and the box together and I will pay the money in place. My presence there will be also more trustful and I can easily proof here my evidence also.
Please be so kind and send me your passport copy and the copy of your employee ID card and a copy of the certificate of origin - I believe that you that you are a honest man who was recommended by Mr.Walter Wall whom I trust - but we are speaking about money, so we must keep some formalities.
When I have the copy of your passport, employye ID card and the certificate of origin, we can immediatelly talk about the next step - it means either abour our meet in London or to send the money via Western Union or to an account you will give me.
I want to ensure you that I am really interested to help Mr.Walter Wall whom I consider to be my friend and I also urgently need money because I am in a bad financial situation.
Looking forward to your reply soon
Best regards Rudolf
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Anti-fraud resources:
