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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. )
- "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- "wumt_ng@w.cn" (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: "Western UnionX Money Transfer" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <wumt_ng@w.cn>
Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 02:55:24 +0100
Subject: Dear Beneficiary.
Dear Beneficiary,
You have been awarded $800,000.00USD. Western Union as been mandated to transfer
your Full compensation payment of $800,000.00USD to you,The funds are coming
directly from African Union Nations Fund headquarters in Nigeria. It is a Grand
Donation from the African Nations to support individuals financially due to the
global and financial economic meltdown.Your email address was selected globally
as one of the beneficiaries for this year 2010 and we are only to pay you the
beneficiaries once they meet their financial obligations.We are obligated to
transfer to you the sum of $800,000.00USD.
To claim This money as the beneficiary, your information as show below is
Needed:
1. Full Name:-
2. Address/Country:
3. Telephone:
4. Age/Gender:
5. Occupation:
I hope to hearing from you as soon as possible.
Best Regards
For More details contact
Manager: Mr. Lawrence Ndubisi
E-mail: wumt_ng@w.cn
Western Union® Money Transfer Nigeria.
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Anti-fraud resources:
