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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:
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- "upsshippment.ng013@dgoh.org" (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.
- 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: "United Parcel Service" <info@mail.com>
Reply-To: upsshippment.ng013@dgoh.org
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2012 11:52:44 +0700
Subject: United Parcel Service (UPS)
After much attempts to reach, but all our efforts to contact you failed.
Although I know you may be apprehensive about this mail but I want you to
understand that your email was short listed
by the United Nation to Africa for the March, 2012 compensation award of
$1,200,000 USD and this took place in Abuja, Nigeria.
However, the Cheque will be deliver to you by the UPS Courier as a parcel.
You are to fill the below "Delivery Verification Details" and send it to
the UPS Courier for the dispatch of your
Cheque parcel. Note: you will be paying your parcel delivery fees of $90
USD to the UPS Courier for the delivery of your Cheque parcel.
*Full Names:...........
*Gender/Sex:...........
*Date of Birth:........
*Your Occupation:......
*Delivery Address:.....
*State/City:...........
*Country:..............
*Cellphone No:.........
*Home Phone No:........
United Parcel Service (UPS)
Contact Name: Paul Walter
Tel: +2347083443934
E-mail: upsshippment.ng013@dgoh.org
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This email was sent using IPB Webmail http://mail.ipb.ac.id/.
Bogor Agricultural University http://www.ipb.ac.id/
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Anti-fraud resources:
