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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. )
- "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.
Fraud email example:
From: JOHN BRENNAN <fileo9909@gmail.com>
Reply-To: JOHN BRENNAN <john.brennan@inbox.ru>
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2015 02:03:06 +0900 (JST)
Subject: CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (CIA)WASHINGTON DC
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (CIA)WASHINGTON DC
FROM DESK OF MR. JOHN BRENNAN SENIOR OFFICER DEPARTMENT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY CIA.WASHINGTON DC
GOOD DAY.
THIS IS TO NOTIFY YOU THAT I RESUMED WORK TO OFFICE 24HOURS BACK AND
I RECEIVED UPDATE FROM UNITED NATION AMBASSADOR MR. LAOUROU ELOI AND HE TOLD
ME THAT THERE WILL BE AN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT TODAY BY 4PM AND MR.JOHN
HOOPER WILL ACT AS YOUR DIPLOMAT AND DELIVER THE PACKAGE TO YOU WHICH
WILL TAKE ONLY 18 HOURS TO GET THE PACKAGE DELIVERED. THE ACTUAL FEE WAS $200 BUT IT WAS
REDUCED TO $100.00 THIS MORNING TO ENSURE THAT YOU RECEIVED YOUR PACKAGE TODAY.
NOTE: THE PACKAGE YOU WILL RECEIVE CONTAIN A VISA CREDIT CARD WHICH
CONTAIN $2MILLION USD ,MASTER CREDIT CARD WHICH CONTAIN $4.5MILLION USD AND
A VERIFIED CASHIER CHECK WORTH $3 MILLION USD WITH THE REQUIRED
SECURITY DOCUMENT WHICH WAS MADE TO YOU AS THE SOLE OWNER AND IT
ALSO INCLUDE THE SECURITY PIN YOU WILL USE TO TRANSACT WITH BOTH
CREDIT CARDS.YOUR TOTAL FUNDS IS $9.5 MILLION USD
THE SUM OF $100 IS REQUIRED TO ENABLE MR.JOHN
HOOPER GET A DIPLOMATIC PACKAGE SEAL WITH TAG OR ELSE THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CUSTOMS WILL
NOT ALLOW HIM TO BOARD THE FLIGHT WITH THE PACKAGE AND THIS DIPLOMATIC
PACKAGE SEAL WITH TAG WILL BE MADE IN YOUR NAME AS THE OWNER OF THE PACKAGE.
THERE IS NO MUCH TIME LEFT AND THE FEE NEED TO BE PAID TODAY TO ENABLE
HIM BOARD TONIGHT FLIGHT AND IT WILL TAKE 18 HOURS TO GET THE PACKAGE
DELIVERED TO YOU. SEND THE $100 CHARGE FEE AND GET YOUR PACKAGE
DELIVERED WITHIN 18 HOURS AND THIS WILL BE THE ONLY FEE AND LAST FEE REQUIRED FROM YOU
TOWARD THIS TRANSACTION.
USE THE DETAILS BELOW TO SEND THE $100.00 VIA WESTERN UNION OR MONEY GRAM.
RECEIVE NAME......GODWIN NNALUE
COUNTRY ....BENIN REPUBLIC
CITY ........COTONOU
TEXT QUESTION:..WHEN
ANSWER:....URGENT
AMOUNT:..$100.00
MTCN .......
SENDER NAME..
SENDER ADDRESS...
A WAIT YOUR REPLY AND THE
REQUIRED PAYMENT CONFIRMATION DETAILS
STAYS BLESS. MR. JOHN BRENNAN DIRECTOR (CIA)
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Anti-fraud resources:
