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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. )
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Agent.Blanc Richard Smith" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <agentrichardsmith@qip.ru>
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2015 04:00:13 -0700
Subject: YOUR URGENT REPLY FROM Agent.Richard Smith
Compliment, I know you will be expecting to hear from me regarding this delivery after the last attempt to get it over. The fact is that I
understand you’re been into so many transaction and I decided to stay clear so that you will understand the truth about everything going on
within the internet.
As it stands now the ball is on your end and if you play it fine you will achieve the goal because the Company has decided to grant 50%
allowance to all our customers which will make it easier to everyone.The 50% bonus is to ease you from paying the total fee which is $455.
You are now required to pay only $225. We shall also ease you with 4days interval to enable you come up with the needed fee for the completion of
this delivery.
Finally the bellow details can help this situation by Western Union Money transfer.
SENDERS NAME.................???
SENDERS ADDRESS.....
RECEIVER'S NAME: SANDRA WRIGHT
LOCATION: 2235 MOUNT ZION PARKWAY STE. 104 MORROW GA 30260
AMOUNT... $225
MTCN.......................... ..........???
Finally I am residing at JFK New York City and you can reach me at agentrichardsmith@qip.ru . This fund shall be remitted in my credit card
within 2hours of the payment confirmation. The attached file is my working ID CARD which will make you understand the extent if legitimacy
of this transaction. You’re advised to get back to us without any delay
Thanks and God bless
Yours in Service
Agent.Blanc Richard Smith
E-mail.. agentrichardsmith@qip.ru
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Anti-fraud resources:
