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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:
- "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)
- 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.
- 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.
- westernunionboun71@yahoo.com.hk (Yahoo, Hong Kong; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Rev. Jerry Monday" <scccbbr@gmail.com>
Reply-To: moneygramofficebenin@kimo.com
Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:10:47 -0400
Subject: Contact Money Gram Office For Your ($1.5MILLION)
ATTENTION DEAR!!!
HOW ARE YOU TODAY? I WRITE TO INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVE ALREADY SENT YOU
$7000.00 USD DOLLARS THROUGH MONEY GRAM AS WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE MANDATE TO
TRANSFER YOUR FULL COMPENSATION PAYMENT TOTAL SUM OF ($1.5MILLION) USD, VIA
MONEY GRAM BY THIS GOVERNMENT. I WAS CALLING YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER TO GIVE YOU
THE INFORMATION THROUGH PHONE BUT YOU DID NOT PICK UP MY CALLS THROUGH OUT
THAT YESTERDAY .NOW, I DECIDED TO EMAIL YOU THE MTCN AND SENDER NAME SO THAT
YOU WILL PICK UP THE $7000.00 USD TO ENABLE US SEND ANOTHER $7000.00 USD TODAY
AS YOU KNOW WE WILL BE SENDING YOU ONLY $7000.00 USD PER DAY AND IT WAS AGREED
THAT YOU WILL PAY THE SUM OF $55 BEFORE THEY WILL RELEASE THE PAYMENT TO YOU.
PLEASE PICK UP THIS INFORMATION AND RUN TO MONEY GRAM TO PICK UP THE $7000.00
USD AND CALL DIRECTOR OF OPERATION MR. PETER MOORE BECAUSE HE IS THE PERSON IN
CHARGE FOR YOUR PAYMENT SO THAT HE CAN SEND YOU ANOTHER PAYMENT TODAY, PHONE
LINE +229 9866-5539,EMAIL ( westernunionboun71@yahoo.com.hk )
EMAIL HIM ONCE YOU PICKED UP THE $7000.00 USD TODAY. HERE IS THE MONEY GRAM
INFORMATION TO PICK UP THE $7000.00; WHICH YOU WILL BE RECEIVING YOUR PAYMENT
$7000.00 US DOLLARS IMMEDIATELY YOU SENT THEM THEIR TRANSFER CHARGE OF $55 AND
IT WILL SERVE AS RE-CONFIRMATION OF YOUR FILE PAYMENT FROM THE OFFICE IN
CHARGE. SO YOU ARE TO RE-CONFIRM TO THEM THE BELOW INFORMATION,
YOUR. RECEIVER--------
YOUR. COUNTRY------
YOUR. CITY-----------
YOUR. TEL----------
YOUR. TEST QUESTION------
YOUR. ANSWER-----------
YOUR.PASSPORT--------
YOU CAN SEND THE TRANSFER CHARGE OF $55 WITH THIS INFORMATION BELOW.
RECEIVER-------------NWEKE CHIBUZOR
LOCATION CITY---------COTONOU-BENIN
COUNTRY-----------------BENIN
TEXT QUESTION--HOW LONG?
ANSWER-----------TODAY
AMOUNT--------------$55.ONLY
BE ADVICE THAT THE $55 IS A COMPULSORY AS THEY TOLD ME THAT IS ONLY MONEY YOU
WILL PAY UNTIL YOU RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT COMPLETELY I AM WAITING FOR YOUR CALL
ONCE YOU PICK UP THIS $7000.00 USD, PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR DIRECT TELEPHONE
NUMBER BECAUSE I NEED TO BE CALLING YOU ONCE WE SEND ANY PAYMENT FOR THE
INFORMATION.+229-9866-5539
REGARDS
REV.JERRY MONDAY
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