419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (2006-01)

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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. )
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
- "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.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +22961129866 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- w.union87benin@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Morrela Jones" <test@vacationgiant.com>
Reply-To: western_90uniion@hotmail.com
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2016 12:52:12 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Contact the western union agent Mr. George Torres with your
=?iso-8859-1?Q?information=92s?=

Welcome TO WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER OFFICE. COTONOU BENIN
REPUBLIC/ADDRESS 367 AGBOKOU, ANKPA ROAD OPPOSITE TUNDE MOTORS COTONOU
Time of service: Mon-Fri, 7:30am close by 9:18pm
Saturday’s: 9:00am close by 8:30pm

Attention Dear,

We the western union board office has hereby write to inform you that
after the meeting with the federal government and the federal ministry of
finance today, we found out that you have been nominated to receive an
award from the federal government which is the sum of $4.8 Million USD
your were awarded by the federal government since 22nd, August 2014. But
the ex Director of federal ministry of finance decided out of his
greediness to claim the funds and we found your payment file under his
table he was fired immediately and they appointed a new director.

Therefore you are advice to provide your receiver’s information to enable
us start transferring the funds to you as directed by the appointed new
federal ministry of finance director you will be a receiving it as daily
payment through this bank Financial bank of Benin republic, and the amount
you will be receiving is $5,000 daily until the total payment has been
send to you.

Meanwhile you are advice to contact the western union agent Mr. George
Torres with your information’s as directed below.

Your Full Name: ___________
Your Address: __________
Your Country: ___________
Your phone number’s: __________
Date of birth: _________
Sex: ______
Occupation: __________
Copy of your ID or driver license: ___________

And note that you will be asked for this code number’s (31bx76) remember
to include it when sending him your information’s to enable him find your
payment file without any further delay. His name is Mr. George Torres
Email: ( w.union87benin@gmail.com ) Also call him as soon as you send the
information for quick reply +229-611-298-66

Warning you shouldn’t share this message with anyone to avoid impostor
someone trying to claim your fund or anything like that. So be warned this
message is for you alone and should remain secrete until you receive your
whole funds, and please if you are not the owner of this email address
please do not reply back to this email.

Regards
Mrs Morella Jones.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam