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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. )
- "money gram" (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. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- 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: Mr Gerald Frank <john.race@superposta.com>
Reply-To: mr.gerald.frank@globomail.com
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2011 03:11:04 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: FROM SECRETARY GENERAL
>From Secretary General
Your bank draft is coming to you as compensation to you by Mr. Kelvin Brown who is now in Paraguay He said that you have once helped him in a transfer of fund which you couldn't finish with him and that he finally got someone from Switzerland who helped him to transfer the fund. Now he is compensating you with this bank draft of US$3Million out of the money as an appreciation for your first help. He is now in Paraguay on a project over there. He kept this bank draft here with me to deliver to you before he travelled.
The bank draft is drawn from FIRST BANK OF BENIN . I have been emailing you about this for long to send the US$27 for the posting fee for them to deliver your bank draft to you.You have to try and send the US$27 so that I can pay the post office charging charges for them to deliver your bank draft to you. Make the payment today by western union Or money gram with the info below:
Receiver Name::.....Okechukwu Chibike
Country::........Benin Republic
City::.........Cotonou
Test Q::.........Urgent
Test Answer::.....Needed
Amount::.........$27 dollars
MTCN number:.........?
Sender Name:.........?
You can forward the payment information to through this email, Also, I would like you to re-send me your Postal address OR house address so as to avoid wrong delivery. Your bank draft will be POSTED to you immediately after the fee is paid.
Looking forward to hear from you soonest. Have a nice day and remain blessed.
Secretary General
Mr. Gerald Frank
Telephone +229-98582119
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Anti-fraud resources:
