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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. )
- "money gram" (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. )
- "huge amount of money" (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)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "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.
- 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: AGENT ROBERT WALKER <oceanicbank79@yahoo.fr>
Reply-To: AGENT ROBERT WALKER <imf.worldregulatory_office@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 17:00:08 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI)
YOU FAILED TO COMPLY WITH OUR DIRECTIVES AND THAT WAS THE REASON WHY WE DIDN'T HEAR FROM YOU ON THE SINCE AS OUR DIRECTOR HAS ALREADY BEEN NOTIFIED ABOUT YOU GETTING THE PROCESS COMPLETED YESTERDAY AND RIGHT NOW THE WARRANT OF ARREST HAS BEEN SIGNED AGAINST YOU AND IT WILL BE CARRIED OUT IN THE NEXT 48 HOURS AS STRICTLY SIGNED BY THE FBI DIRECTOR.
WE HAVE INVESTIGATED AND FOUND OUT THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHEN THE FRAUDULENT DEAL WAS COMMITTED WITH YOUR INFORMATION'S/IDENTITY AND RIGHT NOW YOUR ID IS PLACED ON OUR WEBSITE AS A WANTED PERSON, I BELIEVE YOU KNOW THAT IT WILL BE A SHAME TO YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY BECAUSE AFTER THEN IT WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN ALL THE LOCAL CHANNELS THAT YOU ARE WANTED BY THE FBI.
AS A GOOD AND HONEST MAN, I DECIDED TO SEE HOW I COULD BE OF HELP TOÂ YOU BECAUSE I WOULD NOT BE HAPPY TO SEE YOU END UP IN JAIL AND ALL YOUR PROPERTIES CONFISCATED ALL BECAUSE YOUR INFORMATION WAS USED TO CARRY OUT A FRAUDULENT TRANSACTIONS, I CALLED THE EFCC AND THEY DIRECTED ME TO A PRIVATE ATTORNEY WHO COULD HELP YOU GET THE PROCESS DONE AND HE STATED THAT HE WILL ENDORSED AND STAMP THE DOCUMENT AT THE SUM OF $60.00USD ONLY AND I BELIEVE THIS PROCESS IS CHEAP FOR YOU.
YOU NEED TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE WITHIN TODAY AND TOMORROW TO GET THIS PROCESS DONE BECAUSE OUR DIRECTOR HAS CALLED TO INFORM ME THAT THE WARRANT OF ARREST HAS BEEN SIGNED AGAINST YOU AND ONCE IT HAS BEEN APPROVED, THE ARREST WILL BE CARRIED OUT. FROM OUR INVESTIGATIONS WE LEARNED THAT YOU WERE THE PERSON THAT FORWARDED YOUR ID TO THE FRAUDSTERS WHEN THE HAD A DEAL WITH YOU ABOUT THE TRANSFER OF SOME ILLEGAL FUNDS INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT WHICH INVOLVES A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY.
I PLEADED ON YOUR BEHALF SO THAT THIS AGENCY COULD GIVE YOU BEING NEXT TOMORROW SO THAT YOU COULD GET THIS PROCESS DONE BECAUSE I LEARN THAT YOU WERE SENT SEVERAL E-MAIL WITHOUT GETTING A RESPONSE FROM YOU. BEAR IT IN MIND THAT THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THAT I CAN BE ABLE TO HELP YOU AT THIS MOMENT OR YOU WOULD HAVE TO FACE THE LAW AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
YOU WOULD MAKE THE PAYMENT THROUGH MONEY GRAM OR WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER WITH THE BELOW DETAILS.
Receivers name ........... OSCAR CHIMA
Country....................... ...Benin Republic.
City.......................... ......Cotonou.
Question...................... ..BBC.
Answer........................ ...BBC.
Amount........................ ...$60.
Senders Name........
Waiting to hear from you.
Mtcn ====
MAKE SURE THAT YOU DIDN'T HESITATE MAKING THE PAYMENT DOWN TO THE AGENCY BY TODAY SO THAT THEY COULD HAVE THE CERTIFICATE ENDORSED AND STAMPED IMMEDIATELY WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY.
AFTER ALL THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT, THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO PROCEED TO THE BANK FOR THE TRANSFER OF ALL YOUR FUNDS WHICH IS VALUED AT THE SUM OF $11,500,000.00 USD WHICH WAS SUPPOSE TO HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED TO YOU ALL THIS WHILE.
NOTE: ALL THE CRIME AGENCIES HAS BEEN CONTACTED ON THIS REGARDS AND WE WOULD USE YOUR ADDRESS WHICH IS WITH US AND YOUR ID TO TRACE YOU IF YOU DISREGARD THIS INSTRUCTIONS.
THANKS FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION AS WE AWAIT FOR YOUR RESPONSE
YOURS FAITHFULLY
AGENT ROBERT WALKER
FBI SPECIAL AGENT
PHONE :+229-98-900-940.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI)
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