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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. )
- "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)
- "federal republic of benin" (Benin, Cameroon, etc. are no Federal Republics, unlike Nigeria where this type of scam was invented)
- "sggbe.western@ymail.com" (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.
- 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: "CHIEF ODIKE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sggbe.western@ymail.com>
Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2013 01:44:14 -0500
Subject: Re: ATTN ,My DEAR FRIEND
ATTN MY DEAR ,
WE ARE INSTRUCTED TO RESEND THE FUND TO YOU TO YOUR ADDRESS IN YOUR CITY FROM THE FINACIAL DEPARTMENT HERE IN BENIN REPUBLIC.YOU WILL BE RECEIVING YOUR FUND ( $5000 U.S.D ) PER DAY AND YOU WILL RECEIVE THE TOTAL SUM OF $2.500.000.00.
YOU ARE REQUIRE TO SEND US OUR TRANSFER CHARGES THE SUM OF $295 USD FOR THE $5000 THAT WE HAVE ALREADY SEND, MEANWHILE SEND THE $295 USD TO US IMMEDIATELY TODAY FOR FASTER SENDING OF YOUR FUND CORRECTLY BY TOMORROW MORNING.
AFTER THE MONEY HAVE BEEN TRANSFERED CORRECTLY TO YOUR ADDRESS WE WILL MAIL YOU THE PAYMENT INFORMATIONS YOU NEED TO PICK UP YOUR MONEY IN ANY WESTERN UNION ARROUND YOU CORRECTLY BECAUSE THE ONE THAT IS HERE IS NOT CORRECT BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT RECIVED OUR $295 ONLY.
REASON WHY WE NEED YOU TO SEND US THE $295 USD IS THAT WE TRIED TO DIDUCT THE TRANSFERING FEE OUT FROM YOUR FUND BUT THE MINISTER AMINISTRATOR TRUST FUND OF BENIN REPUBLIC TOLD US THAT NO ONE HAS RIGHT OVER YOUR FUND AS IT HAVE BEEN SIGNED AND STAMPED THAT NO MONEY SHOULD BE DIDUCTED UNTIL IT GETS TO YOUR HANDS TO AVOID STEALING SOME OF THE FUNDS.
HERE IS THE ONE WE SEND TO YOU BUT IT WILL REMAIN ON HELD UNTIL YOU SEND US OUR TRANSFER CHARGES OF $295 BEFORE WE CAN REALISE IT MEANWHILE YOU WILL TRACK IT AND CONFIRM THE MTCN BY WWW.WESTERNUNION.COM
MTCN... 100-796-0069
SENDERS NAME... HENRY NWORA
SENDERS COUNTRY... BENIN REPUBLIC
TEXT QUESTION.... IN GOD
TEXT ANS... WE TRUST
AMOUNT... $5,000.00
http://www.westernunion.com/info/selectCountry.asp
FINALY URGENT SEND US THE $295 USD TO ENABLE US PROCEED ON YOUR PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY RIGHT.
BELOW IS OUR ACCOUNT'S INFORMATION FOR YOU TO SEND THE $285 USD THROUGH WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER BEEN OUR TRANSFERING CHARGE FOR YOUR $5000.00 USD.
RECEIVER:_______EZECHUKWU EDWIN
COUNTRY:________ BENIN REPUBLIC,
COUNTRY CODE:____ 229
City__________ Cotonou
QUESTION:_______URGENT
ANSWER:_________Today.
AMOUNT:_________$295
Send The MTCN NO:___________________
Sender Name:________________________
Amount: $295 DOLLAR
YOUR URGENT RESPOND IS HIGHLY NEEDED .
WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS MESSAGE TO QUICKEN THE PROCESS.
Thanks for using our best service,
I wait for your response.
Dollars Western Union Logo
Western Union®
Welcome to Western Union
Send Money Worldwide
E-MAIL-(sggbe.western@ymail.com)
YOURS FAITHFULLY
HONOURABLE CHAIRMAN
MR TONY EBUBE
+22964764031
MINISTER OF FINANCE
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF BENIN
Dollars Western Union Logo
Western Union®
Welcome to Western Union
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