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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:
- "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. )
- "united state of america" (this email uses bad English)
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: ATM PAYMENT CENTER
Reply-To: <ambassadorjames89@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2015 22:01:44 -0800
Subject: DELIVERY UPDATE
Embassy of the United States of America Plot 1075 Diplomatic Drive Central =
District Area, Abuja. CHECK HERE VIEW MY DATA: http://nigeria.usembassy.gov=
/biography.html attention friend THIS IS Ambassador James F. Entwistle U.S.=
Ambassador to Nigeria. UNITED STATE OF AMERICA AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA. I SH=
ALL BE COMING TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING ON TUESDAY AND I WILL=
BE BRINGING YOUR FUNDS THROUGH AN ATM MASTER CARD OF $15M ALONG WITH ME BU=
T THIS TIME I WILL NOT GO THROUGH CUSTOMS BECAUSE AS AN AMBASSADOR TO NIGER=
IA, I AM A US GOVERNMENT AGENT AND I HAVE THE VETO POWER TO GO THROUGH CUST=
OMS. AS SOON AS I AM THROUGH WITH THE MEETING I SHALL THEN PROCEED TO YOUR =
ADDRESS. (SEND YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER AND THE ADDRESS WHERE YOU WANT ME TO =
BRING THE PACKAGE). YOU HAVE REALLY PAID SO MUCH IN THIS DELIVERY THAT MAKE=
S ME WONDER. YOU ARE A VERY LUCKY PERSON BECAUSE I SHALL BE BRINGING IT MYS=
ELF AND THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT. CHECK HERE: http://nigeria=
.usembassy.gov/biography.html .PRIVATE E-MAIL: YOU SHOULD SEND THE FEE DIRE=
CTLY TO THE CARGO REGISTRATION OFFICER WITH THE INFO BELOW- Receiver Name; =
Fumnanya Odiobara Address: Lagos,Nigeria Text Question: When? Answer: Now. =
amount $250 MTCN:............... AS SOON AS YOU SEND THE FEE MAKE SURE YOU =
SEND ME THE PAYMENT INFORMATION. MY FLIGHT IS TUESDAY AND I EXPECT YOU TO C=
OMPLY BEFORE THEN SIGN Ambassador James F. Entwistle U.S. Ambassador to Nig=
eria US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA TELEPHONE NUMBER CHECK HERE VIEW MY DATA: htt=
p://nigeria.usembassy.gov/biography.html
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Anti-fraud resources: