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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:
- "clear source of funds certificate" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
- "certificates of origin of funds" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
- "the required fees" (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. )
- "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. )
- ",000,000" (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)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- 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.
- ups_company1@sify.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Robert Pikus" <barrgodwinnwanne@hotmail.fr>
Reply-To: fbisecurity@live.fr
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:08:17 +0100 (BST)
Subject: UPS INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY DEPARTMENT
 UPS INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY DEPARTMENT
12 DENLOT STREET.
BENIN REPUBLIC
HEAD MANAGER
MR JOE PATRICK
CONTACT THIS EMAIL;ups_company1@sify.com
CONTACT NOÂ +229 93-18-57-96
Atten;
Your ATM Card Value $20,000,000(TWENTY MILLION UNITED STATE DOLLAR).
It seems you don"t want to show seriousness regarding your package i am going to
 return it to the federal ministry of finance if you didn not send the shipment
 fee within the next 48hours.
You are advised that a maximum withdrawal value of $15,000 is permitted on
 withdrawal per day and you can make withdrawal in any location and ATM Center
 of your choice.
As soon as payment is confirm, you will be sent the tracking number to ascertain
 status of your card shipment.
DESCRIPTION OF PARCEL:
ATM card/original certificate of weight :—–0.20kg
Bonded draft of weight :——————0.17kg
Total weight of parcel :——————–0.37kg
Color of Parcel :—————————-ups package
Delivery Type:——————————-Premium Service
Delivery Status:——————————Virtual Pending
Destination:————————————–=USA
Your parcel contains the following documents:
1.VISA DEBITÂ CARD VALUED THE SUM OF $20 MILLIONS USD.
2.CLEAR SOURCE OF FUNDS CERTIFICATES(C.S.F.C…)
3.CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN OF FUNDS(C.O.F.)
These documents have been securely sealed and packed for security reasons which
 makes it impossible for anyone to view it until its been delivered to you.
The FBI has investigated this transaction and everything has been
arranged, the total sum has been deposited at Bank of America.
Once we receive the required fees for processing this transaction, we shall
immediately dispatch your package to your home address immediately without
deylay
The required shipment fee of $89 is for the following reason(s):
(1) Deposit Fee's (Fee’s paid by the company for the deposit into an
American Bank which is Bank of America) NIL
3) Shipping Fee's (This is the charge for shipping the
ATM CARD to your home address and this fee includes
Insurance)$89.A TOTAL OF $89 IS REQUIRED OF YOU TO FINALIZE YOUR FUNDS PAYMENT.
Below you will find the names and UPS Tracking
numbers of beneficiary's like you whom have successfully paid the $89
fee and there Certified ATM CARDÂ Parcel has been successfully
delivered to them.
I want you to proceed immediately to make your own payment
of $75Â so I can successfully deliver your Certified ATM CARD Parcel
to your Door Step as soon as possible.I want you to log on to the
UPS website.
on your browser: WWW.ups.com to check and see that
the below listed beneficiary's Certified ATM CARD Parcel was
delivered to them. I want you to know that I shall immediately deliver yours as
soon as you pay this fee of $75Â via Western Union
Name : Comroberta Izora Gilbert: UPS Tracking Number:
1Z757F990195914232 (WWW.ups.com)
Name : Prasad Kamat: UPS Tracking Number:
1Z757F991599025615 (WWW.ups.com)
Name : Donna L. Vargas: UPS Tracking Number:
1Z757F991598420403 (WWW.ups.com)
Name : Rovenda Elaine Clayton: UPS Tracking Number:
1Z757F991596606592
(WWW.ups.com)
Name : Latonya S. Heath: UPS Tracking Number:
1Z757F991597708186 (WWW.ups.com)
Name : Jimmy Davis:UPS Tracking Number: 1Z757F991598753563
(WWW.ups.com)
==============================
==============================
USE THE DETAILS BELOW TO SEND THE $89 VIA WESTERN UNION.
RECEIVER NAME: ALEX MACHI
CITY: Cotonou,
ZIPCODE:229
COUNTRY: BENIN
TEXT QUESTION: WHITE
ANSWER: BLUE
USE THE ABOVE INFORMATION AND TEXT QUESTION AND ANSWER ONCE PAYMENT IS MADE GET
 BACK TO ME WITH THE REQUIRED CONFIRMATION DETAILS.
SENDER NAME:..........
ADDRESS:.........
STATE:............
MTCN NUMBER..........
TEXT QUESTION ...........
ANSWER.............
AWAIT YOUR REPLY.
UPS INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY DEPARTMENT
HEAD MANAGER
MR MR JOE PATRICK
CONTACT THIS EMAIL;ups_company1@sify.com
+229 93-18-57-96
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Anti-fraud resources:
