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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. )
- "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. )
- "money transfer control number" (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. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "westernunionct@hosanna.net" (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.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: JERRYKOLE <revgreen1080@bellsouth.net>
Reply-To: westernunionct@hosanna.net
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 01:17:18 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: CONTACT WESTERN UNION FOR YOUR PAYMENT
DollarsWestern Union Logo
WEB SITE/.www.westernunion.com
ATTN:
WE HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO SEND YOUR FUND TO YOUR ADDRESS IN YOUR CITY FROM THE FINACIAL DEPARTMENT HERE IN BENIN REPUBLIC.YOU WILL BE RECEIVING YOUR FUND ( $850, 000, 00 ) PER DAY 5000 AND YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR TOTAL FUND AND ALSO RECOMFIRM BELOW INFORMATION TO US
1).Receiver's Name::::::::
2)Country::::::::::::::
3)City:::::::::::::::::
4)Tel::::::::::::::::::
5)Test question::::::::
6)Answer:::::::::::::::
REASON WHY WE NEED YOU TO SEND US THE $50 USD IS THAT WE TRIED TO DIDUCT THE TRANSFERING FEE OUT FROM YOUR FUND BUT THE MINISTER AMINISTRATOR TRUST FUND OF BENIN REPUBLIC TOLD US THAT NO ONE HAS RIGHT OVER YOUR FUND AS IT HAVE BEEN SIGNED AND STAMPED THAT NO MONEY SHOULD BE DIDUCTED UNTIL IT GETS TO YOUR HANDS TO AVOID STEALING SOME OF THE FUNDS.
HERE IS THE SENDER NAME AND MTCN WE SEND TO YOU BUT IT WILL REMAIN ON HOLD UNTIL YOU SEND US OUR TRANSFER CHARGES OF $50 BEFORE WE CAN RELEASE IT MEANWHILE YOU WILL TRACK IT BY YOURSELF TO CONFIRM THE MTCN BY WWW.WESTERNUNION.COM
PAYMENT DETAILS.
Money transfer control number (MTCN)
Senders Name: ALLEN SMITH
3853165672
Contact Person: Mr ALLEN SMITH .
Tele phone Number: +229 98139688
Email Address: (westernunionct@hosanna.net)
FINALY URGENT SEND US THE $50 USD TO ENABLE US PROCEED ON YOUR PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY RIGHT.
BELOW IS OUR ACCOUNT'S INFORMATION FOR YOU TO SEND THE $50 USD THROUGH WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER BEEN OUR TRANSFERING CHARGE FOR YOUR $5000.00 USD
1.RECEIVER NAME:..............Ales Nwabude
2.COUNTRY:.......... Republic of Benin .
3.CITY :............... Cotonou.
4.TEST QUESTION:.............WHAT COLOUR?
5.TEST ANSWER:......GREEN.
6.AMOUNT:...............$50, USD
YOUR URGENT RESPOND IS HIGHLY NEEDED .
WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS MESSAGE TO QUICKEN THE PROCESS.ANY GESTION YOU CAN CALLED US WITH THIS NUMBER +2298139688
REGARDS
JERRY KOLE
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