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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:
- "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. )
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Christiana Steve" <castagna.ivan@alice.it>
Reply-To: westerrnunion010@outlook.com
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2014 21:54:45 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: =?UTF-8?Q?Contact_Western_Union_Agent=E2=80=8F_Now!!!?=
Good Day;
This is to inform you that we want to start sending your winning lottery of
$1.2MUSD today and you can only be receiving $4500 two times
daily from us through your payment file,
I have made today's payment for you below is the MTCN
MTCN=759-851-8712
Sender name= Jaroslav Kundla
MTCN=759-851-8712
Question=Red
Answer=Blue
Amount=$4500
Re-confirm your information's your name phone number to enable us
activate the
MTCN in your name.
Contact Mr. Eric john
E-mail(weste.com)
00229 98486934.
This is my Email(westerrnunion010@outlook.com) and do let me know as soon
as
you received
all your funds$1.2MUSD.
Thank you
Mrs. Christiana Steve
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Anti-fraud resources:
