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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:
- 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 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.
- 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.
- atm.1956@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Angela Venegas ATM CARD APPROVAL DEP'T\"" <drew--------hudson@sbcglobal.net>
Reply-To: atm.1956@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2011 08:31:44 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: ATTENTION BENEFICIARY
ATTENTION BENEFICIARY
ATM PAYMENT SECTION
TO THE HONORABLE BENEFICIARY
IT IS MY PLEASURE TO INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVE FINALLY CONCLUDED WITH THE UBA (UNITED BANK OF AFRICA) ATM CARD DEPT DIRECTOR TODAY TO FABRICATE THE TOTAL MONEY IN WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER ATM CARD AS SOON AS YOU CONTACT THE REMITTANCE OFFICE.
YOU WILL BE USING THE CARD TO WITHDRAW YOUR MONEY IN ANY ATM MACHINE IN YOUR LOCATION (THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT YOU WILL BE PERMITTED TO WITHDRAW IN EACH DAY FROM THE CARD IS $20,000.00 USD).
WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT DUE TO THE PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVES FOR THE (CLEARANCE OF ALL THE PENDING PAYMENTS OF THE YEAR 2009) WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT, AN URGENT INSTRUCTION HAS TODAY PASSED TO US BY THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND OFFICE (I.M.F.) FOR THE IMMEDIATE FABRICATE OF YOUR COMPENSATION SUM OF $1,500.000.00 USD (ONE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS) IN ATM MASTER CARD.
THEREFORE, WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NOW IS TO QUICKLY CHECK/ VERIFIED YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION WHICH WE HAVE HERE WITH US IN THE CARD-SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND PROCEED IN CONTACTING THE UBA ATM CARD DEPT DIRECTOR IMMEDIATELY FOR THE FURTHER DIRECTIVES/RELEASE OF YOUR (ATM MASTER CARD) TO YOU. DO RECONFIRM YOUR FULL ACCURATE INFORMATION TO HIM AS STATED BELOW
1. YOUR FULL NAME:________________
2. ADDRESS: _____________________
3. COUNTRY: _____________________
4. CITY: _____________________
5. TEL: _____________________
6. YOUR OCCUPATION:_____________
8. NATIONALITY:_________________
BELOW IS THE INFORMATION TO CONTACT THE UNITED BANK OF AFRICA ATM CARD DEP'T DIRECTOR
UNITED BANK OF AFRICA (UBA)
AGENCY TEMPORARILY DE RECOLONIZATION (ATR)
CONTACT PERSON: MR FRANK NEWTON
EMAIL: atm.1956@yahoo.com
Tel: +2347064389503
REGARDS
MR. JACK
(LEGAL ADVISER ON FINANCIAL MATTERS
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Anti-fraud resources:
