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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "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.
- diplomatagent303@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "MR JIMMY G.TONY" <zenithbankaplcbeninrepublic@gmail.com>
Reply-To: diplomatagent303@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2014 05:30:17 -0800
Subject: I AM DIPLOMAT AGENT MR AHMED PETER FROM BENIN REPUBLIC// I HAVE YOUR
PACKAGE BOX HERE IN MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MLB) FLORIDA U.SA
HOW IS EVERYTHING AND YOUR FAMILY? IS NOW OVER TOO WEEKS THAT I HAVE
BEEN WITH U.S.A CUSTOMS WHERE I WAS ARRESTED THAT I DO
NOT HAVE A DELIVERY CLEARANCE PAPER AT MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
(MLB) FLORIDA U.S.A BUT I THANK GOD THAT THEY HAVE RELEASED ME TODAY
WITH YOUR PACKAGE WORTH THE SUM OF $10.5MILLION U.S.A DOLLARS BUT THEY
NEVER KNOW THAT IT CONTENTS LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY.
SO IS THIS MORNING THAT THEY RELEASED ME WITH YOUR FUNDS.YOU ADVICE TO
RECONFIRM YOUR DETAILS TO ME, YOU KNOW I LOST IT
DURING WHEN I WAS DRAGGING YOUR PACKAGE WITH SOME IMMIGRATION OFFICER
HERE. AND AGAIN YOU HAVE TO PAY THE SUM OF $38.00 FOR THE DELIVERY
CLEARANCE PAPER THEY SAID THAT IF I DID NOT HAVE IT THAT I WILL NOT
ENTER FLIGHT TO YOUR OR TAXI SO SEND THE FEE TO BENIN REPUBLIC WHERE I
COME FROM,SO THAT THEY WILL GET THE DELIVERY CLEARANCE PAPER ASAP AND
FORWARD IT TO ME HERE AND IT WILL NOT TAKE MORE THAN 4/HRS OR 6/HRS I
WILL GET TO YOUR HOME ONCE YOU SEND THE FEE TODAY.
HERE IS THE INFORMATION TO SEND IT.
RECEIVERS NAME JOHN OBI
COUNTRY BENIN REPUBLIC .
CITY COTONOU .
AMOUNT $38.00
TXQ QU SEND IT.
ANSWER ONLY
SENDERS NAME.....
MTCN........
PLEASE CALL MY DIRECTOR NOW NAME MR JIMMY G.TONY // NO+229-99-451-433
I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE ANY MORE LONG HERE AND I WILL DELIVER YOUR FUNDS
IN 4 HRS TIME ONCE YOU SEND THE FEE TO THE MAN IN CHARGE.DO THAT FAST
SO THAT THEY CAN NOT LOOK OVER THIS PACKAGE BOX TO KNOW THE CONTENTS,
THANKS
DIPLOMAT
MR AHMED PETER.
EMAILS:( diplomatagent303@yahoo.com)
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Anti-fraud resources:
