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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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. )
- "trunk box" (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)
- "million dollars" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
- anthonydalie@yahoo.com (Yahoo; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Tom Temba <tomtemba202@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2012 03:25:49 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: SEND DOWN FIRST 12 NAMES TO ME IMMEDIATELY TOM TEMBA
DEAR FRIEND
AM TOM TEMBA I WANT YOU TO KINDLY SEND ME 12 FIRST NAMES THAT I WILL
USE IN SENDING YOU MY MONEY $5,000 DOLLARS AND GIVE YOU THE MTCN NUMBER
TEXT QUESTION AND ANSWER TO BE PICKING UP THE MONEY IN YOUR COUNTRY AS
AM TALKING TO YOU THE TRUNK BOX WORTH $2MILLION DOLLARS IS WITH THE
HOTEL MANAGER MR ANTHONY DALIE , BUT THE KEY IS WITH ME WHICH THE HOTEL
MANAGER DO NOT KNOW THE CONTENT OF THE TRUNK BOX BUT UNTIL I PAY HIM HIS
STORAGE AND FEEDING FEE BEFORE THE TRUNK BOX WILL BE RELEASE TO ME SO
YOU CAN CONTACT THE HOTEL MANAGER MR ANTHONY DALIE ON EMAIL
anthonydalie@yahoo.com AND LET HIM KNOW YOU WANT TO STAND TO ASSIST ME
CLAIM THE TRUNK BOX IMMEDIATELY THE TRUNK BOX IS RELEASE TO ME I WILL
START
SENDING YOU MY MONEY ON EACH OF THE NAMES THAT I ASK YOU TO SEND TO ME
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE I WILL SEND YOU THE FIRST $5,000 DOLLARS ON YOUR
NAME AND GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION TO PICK IT UP AND CONFIRM IT TO ME
KINDLY REACH ME WITH YOUR DIRECT CELL PHONE NUMBER AND THE NAMES UNTIL
YOU RECEIVE ALL THE FUND BEFORE YOU WILL SEND INVITATION LETTER TO ME TO
COME AND JOIN YOU INVEST MY FUND OVER IN YOUR COUNTRY SO IF YOU ARE
WILLING TO HELP ME SIMPLY SEND THE NAMES AND CONTACT THE HOTEL MANAGER
MR ANTHONY DALIE AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THE FIRST SET YOU WILL SEND DOWN
MORE NAMES TO BE RECEIVING MY FUND QUICKLY ATTACH IS THE DEPOSIT SLIP
AS SOON AS YOU CONTACT THE HOTEL MANAGER AND THE TRUNK BOX IS RELEASE I
WILL BE SENDING YOU
THE MONEY THREE TIMES EVERY DAY UNTIL YOU RECEIVE ALL THE FUND SEND
INVITATION LETTER TO ME MY MONEY IS CLEAN AND SPENDABLE IMMEDIATELY
TOM TEMBA
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Anti-fraud resources:
