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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "you are required to pay " (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.
- 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.
- rev.colin.thompson@deliveryman.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Total Petroleum PLC." <sandra.ibeh@clerk.com>
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2016 09:24:33 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: YOUR ATM CARD PAYMENT IS READY FOR DELIVERY.
YOUR ATM CARD NUMBER: 4278763100030014
HOPEFULLY YOU ARE DOING GREAT IN HEALTH MATTERS WITH YOURBELOVED FAMILY. HOWEVER I HAVE REGISTERED THE ATM CARD WITH DHL COMPANYTHIS MORNING AS WE AGREED AND THE DELIVERY WILL TAKE OFF TOMORROWMORNING BASED ON MY AGREEMENT WITH THE DHL DIRECTOR REV. COLIN THOMPSON,MOST IMPORTANTLY RECONFIRM YOUR CURRENT DELIVERY ADDRESS TO HIM CONTACTHIM VIA HIS PRIVATE EMAIL:(rev.colin.thompson@deliveryman.com)Â THEONLY MONEY YOU ARE REQUIRED TO PAY IS $73 AS PACKAGE DELIVERY FEES TOYOUR HOME DOOR STEP. I WILL NOT BE REACHED TILL APRIL 25TH 2016, BECAUSEI AM ON MATERNITY LEAVE. THE AMOUNT IN YOUR ATM CARD IS 1.2 MILLIONUSD, AND THE PIN-CODE OF YOUR ATM CARD IS(0609) THANKSÂ MRS. SHELLY ANNA EDRIS.
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Anti-fraud resources:
