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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "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 orders " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- This email message is a company representative scam. This type of job offer scam involves the cashing of fake checks and money orders. It could expose you to losses of tens of thousands of dollars as well as to the risk of criminal prosecution and (in some cases) imprisonment.
- 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.
- drclarke4@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Clarke Charles Dr" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <DRCLARKE4@AOL.COM>
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:10:57 -0400
Subject: Employment Notification!!!
Dear Sir/Madam,
We have a job offer available for you .We are a research company based in
UNITED KINGDOM.We have been receiving funding from NORTHERN AMERICA,
AUSTRALIA,and EUROPE which we have not been able to process competently
since we do not have a payment receiving personnel in these Areas and the
payments come in form of US money orders and cashier checks. We have decided
to recruit payment officers online hence we will be needing a representative to
process our payments in these areas.
Commission:10% of every money order/check
EXAMPLE If you receive a check of $1,000.00 your net income is
$100.00, our company supports any fees and you need no office
and we also pay the western union fees and this is 100% legal.
You must be over 16 years of age.
IF YOU SATISFY WITH OUR CONDITIONS PLEASE CONTACT WITH THIS FOLLOWING
DETAILS:
A. Your FULL NAME
B. Your Address where the Payments should be sent to via courier.
C. Telephone numbers (Cell phone and home phone but not voice mail.)
D. Age
E. Sex
F. Occupation
G. Name of company you have done this kind of work for if any
Only interested applicants should respond to this offer and forward all
information requested to drclarke4@aol.com
Thanks for your anticipated action
Dr. Charles Clarke
CEO, GREEN Research and Consulting Inc
92 Finsbury Circus
London | EC2M 7DT | UK
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Anti-fraud resources:
