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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:
- 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. )
- "registration fee" (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. )
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. MCCULLEY <drjameswilliams12@yahoo.es>
Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:59:07 +0700
Subject: GOOD NEWS!!!
GOOD NEWS!!! US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA TERENCE P. MCCULLEY 11 GARIK
ROAD ABUJA ABUJA, NIGERIA. ATTENTION: I SHALL BE COMING TO YOUR
COUNTRY FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING AND I WILL BE BRINGING YOUR FUNDS OF
$3.5MILLION WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN CREDITED INTO AN ATM CARD PARCEL
ALONG WITH ME BUT THIS TIME I WILL NOT GO THROUGH CUSTOMS BECAUSE AS
AN AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA, I AM A US GOVERNMENT AGENT AND I HAVE THE
VETO POWER TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMS. AS SOON AS I AM THROUGH WITH THE
MEETING I SHALL THEN PRECEED TO YOUR ADDRESS.SEND ME THE FOLLOWING
INFORMATION. YOUR FULL NAMES: YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER: YOUR FULL HOUSE
ADDRESS: YOUR NEAREST AIRPORT: YOU ARE A VERY LUCKY PERSON BECAUSE I
SHALL BE BRINGING IT MYSELF AND THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT
IT. YOUR PACKAGE OF $3.5MILLION WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN CREDITED INTO
AN ATM CARD PARCEL MUST BE REGISTERED AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE FOR
ME TO DEFEAT ALL ODDS AND THE COST OF REGISTERING IT IS $135. I HEREBY
ADVICE YOU TO ACT VERY FAST AND SEND THE
REGISTRATION FEE VIA WESTERN
UNION TODAY SO THAT ALL NECESSARY ARRANGEMENT CAN BE MADE BEFORE TIME
WILL BE AGAINST US. SEND THE FEE VIA WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER TO
MY OFFICER RECEIVER'S NAME: JOHN NWAOMA ADDRESS: LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION:FOR WHAT ANSWER:DELIVERY AMOUNT:$135 AS SOON AS YOU SEND
THE FEE MAKE SURE YOU SEND ME THE PAYMENT INFORMATION. I EXPECT YOU TO
COMPLY BEFORE THEN SO THAT THE DELIVERY CAN BE COMPLETED. IF YOU DO
NOT COMPLY, THEN IT WILL NOT BE MY FAULT IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR
PACKAGE. AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. MCCULLEY US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA
+2347034273331
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Anti-fraud resources:
