|
|
joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
|
|
"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: Mary Seidman <wumt2012@barid.com>
Reply-To: Mary Seidman <jerrywilliams2112@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 2015 16:28:35 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Release/Transfer Notice for your due Funds $850,000:00 USD.
This
is to inform you that we discovered during our audit that you have not
received your payment according to the earlier instructions. YOUR NAME
AND EMAIL ADDRESS WAS SHORTLISTED AS ONE OF THE OUTSTANDING BENEFICIARY
OF THIS COMPENSATION PAYMENT. It’s on this basis we are contacting you
for the payment of your unclaimed fund. Meanwhile we are so sorry for
any damages the delay might have caused you before now.
It is my
pleasure to inform you that I have used my office as the managing
director to smooth the progress of our agreement in order to pay you the
sum of ($850,000 USD) through western union money transfer by receiving
$5000 twice a day until the total money will be completely transferred
to you.
The agent Mr. Frank Cheney has transferred the first
$5000 to you so feel free to contact him for the payment transfer
information and MTCN to pick up the money once he acknowledges the
receipt of your following request details, these includes;
Your First Name: Middle Name: Last Name:
Country:
Occupation:
Your direct telephone number (Mobile):
I
told Mr. Frank that I will advise you to contact him with this his
direct phone number (+229 618 627 73) so he looks forward to hearing
from you and kindly email us the above details in case he does not pick
your calls which will be forwarded to him and be rest assured he will
get back to you with further updates on your payment. Remember to
indicate the registration code of (AX001DAWU) to him when calling him
and he will be sending you $10,000.00 every day as agreed.
Mary Seideman
|
Anti-fraud resources:
