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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. )
- "w.estyunion101@live.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: presidencia@assure.com.br
Reply-To: w.estyunion101@live.com
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2013 16:07:53 +0100
Subject: !!!Dear Scam Victim!!! NOTIFICATION FROM WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER
WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER.
WORLD BANK/NIGERIA GOVERNMENT/UNITED NATIONS ASSISTED PROGRAMME
SCAM COMPENSATION OFFICE DEPARTMENT
SCAM VICTIMS COMPENSATIONS PAYMENTS.
YOUR REF/PAYMENTS CODE: ECB/06654 FOR $500,000 USD ONLY.
TEL: +2348077166240
Dear Scam Victim,
This is to bring to your notice that (WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER) is delegated by the WORLD BANK/NIGERIA GOVERNMENT/UNITED NATIONS to pay victims of scam $500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand Dollars Only). You are listed/approved for this payment as one of the scammed victims to be paid this amount.
The payments are to be remitted by WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER as corresponding paying bank under funding assistance by The WORLD BANK. Benefactor of this compensation award will have to be first cleared by WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER and confirmed as a victim from Scam before scam payment can be effected. We shall feed you with further modalities as soon as we get response from you.
You are to send the following informations to your remittance officer for further verifications.
YOUR FULL NAMES.___________________________
ADDRESS.___________________________
PHONE NUMBER.__________________
AMOUNT DEFRAUDED.________________
AGE.___________
OCCUPATION._____________________
COUNTRY.________________________
Send a copy of your response via email or call your remittance officer quoting your PAYMENT CODE NUMBER(ECB/06654).
==========================================================
NAME: MR.CLEMENT D. BRIGGS
SCAMMED VICTIM/REF/PAYMENTS CODE:
ECB/06654 $500,000 USD.
Telephone : +2348077166240
Email: w.estyunion101@live.com
==========================================================
Yours Faithfully,
Secretary-General United Nation
BAN KI MOON
http://www.un.org/sg
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