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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. )
- "moneygram" (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. )
- 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.
- MoneyGram money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. Along with Western Union it is a preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- moneygramtransfer807@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: <>
Reply-To: <moneygramtransfer807@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2015 22:41:33 +0530
Subject: GOOD NEWS! REPLY NOW
This fund is awarded from European Union and United Nations respectively fo=
r compensation/overdue contract payment and your name is included on this, =
the fund is deposited to our custody to send to all the beneficiaries who h=
as complied. After our verification we found out that your information is c=
orrect and We are ready to send your first payment of $6000 dollars through=
money gram to you but you only have to pay the Money Gram transfer charges=
of $120 dollars only before you will be able to receive your first payment=
of $6000 dollars. We will be sending the fund in bits of $6000 dollars eve=
ry day until we send all your fund, this is because the fund is huge and ca=
n not be sent all at once. Be assured that you do not have to pay any other=
fees or money to anybody before you receive your payment after sending thi=
s transfer charges of $120 dollars. Your first payment of $6000 dollars wil=
l be transferred and the 8 digit number will be sent to you immediately we =
receive this transfer charges of $120 dollars, we can not deduct the charge=
s from the deposited fund because the European Union prohibits us from temp=
ering the fund until it is all sent to the beneficiary You can send the tra=
nsfer charges of $120 dollars to us through any Money gram or western Union=
or bank account around you to this name and address below so we can start =
sending your fund immediately.As soon as we receive the fees, I will call y=
ou to give you the Money gram information for you to go and receive your fi=
rst payment and we will keep sending your fund until you receive all your f=
unds.Reply on this email: moneygramtransfer807@gmail.com Thanks Best Regard=
Mrs.Elizabeth Moore
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Anti-fraud resources:
