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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:
- "stamp duty" (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. )
- "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. )
- "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: Mrs Helen Paul <uniontransfer54@gmail.com>
Reply-To: "Dr. William Paul" <customer.care788@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2015 10:18:15 +0900 (JST)
Subject: WESTERN UNION REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT.
WESTERN UNION REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT.
178 AVENUE PAPE REV. JAMES II,
01 B.P. 2020, COTONOU REPUBLIC DU BENIN
Telephone : +229-98082930
Website: www.westernunion.com
Attn: Dear. Customer,
This is to acknowledge the receipt of your email response in regards to your compensation ((US$4.5USD)) payment through this Western Union Branch Office here in Cotonou Benin Republic. We are instructed to send your funds to your address in your city Western Union office from here in Benin Republic office Western Union money transfer and you will be receiving your fund ( $5000 U.S.D) per day until you received all your total payment which is the sum of (US$4.5USD) as scheduled in our office here.
We wish to convey to you that every other necessary arrangement for transmission of your payment has been completed by the Western Union Office , But we will not hesitate to inform you that it is now your responsibility to officially settle for the re-validation administrative charges of your payment file in order to enhance a successful transfer of your payment without any obstruction along the line.
Furthermore, we are therefore notifying you that you are to officially make an administrative charge of ($75 only) for paper work and
stamp duty charge .
We want you to know that this is a legitimate transfer and that is why our Federal Ministry of Finance said that your file which was deposited at this Western Union with your name must be validated before the transfer will commence.
Be rest assure that as soon you send this $75 we must start transferring your fund to you through this Western Union Department without any further delay and this is the only fee you have to pay in this transaction as it was written down already by the Federal government of this country that mapped out the compensation for you.
You should send the $75 via western union money transfer or western union through the name of our cashier manager Christian Udenze. Below is the destination address:
SENDERS NAME………………??
RECEIVER'S NAME...Christian Udenze
COUNTRY…….Republic of Benin.
CITY………Cotonou
AMOUNT… $75
TEST QUESTION……GOD ?
SECURITY ANSWER…TEST.
MTCN………………………………???
We are waiting to hear from you today with the fee to enable this department to release your fund immediately.
Looking forward for your anticipated response.
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