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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:
- "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. )
- "economic and financial crime commission" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "(efcc)" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "my direct line" (a "direct line" in a scam usually means an untraceable mobile phone number used by a scammer in an internet cafe, a redirection service number that forwards to a mobile or a free voicemailbox in a different country.)
- "power of attorney" (with your bank details and a power of attorney form criminals sometimes empty bank accounts)
- "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.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: MONEY GRAM HEAD OFFICE <info@moneygram.com>
Reply-To: mg1ho201@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2016 00:01:32 +0100
Subject: Officially Notice,
--
Officially Notice,
I received an email from MR. JAMES EDWARD who presented his name and a
telephone number with a resident address to confirm he is the real
person you gave the attorney, saying that you gave him the power of
attorney to make your claims that you are not able to complete the deal.
Please try and get back to us immediately before we instruct him to pay
for the required charges and have the fund transferred to him.
And he agree to paid the remaining fee today so we are very happy okay
but we want to confirm from you before we proceeded because you are
delaying and you are joking with the deal and i will forward his name
and the address to the ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIME COMMISSION (EFCC)
Office as soon as i hear from you and we will go court to make the
changing of ownership so get back ASAP so that we can finished this deal
and i already forward the power of attorney to Supo kenedy the custom in
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
Below are the information's he sent to us.
Name ................MR. JAMES EDWARD
Country...............NORWAY
City................. HAUKELIGVEGEN 370 2625 FAABERG
Phone Number.........:(602) 904-8573
Test Question.........In God
Answer................We Trust
Age..................49
Please if your not the one that instructed him then don't hesitate to be
in touch with us and kindly get the needed fee remaining to finalize the
issue of your fund send with bellow information okay.
Receivers name …………..MIKE BASIL
Country …………………..Benin Republic
City ………………………Cotonou
Text question …………….A
Answer …………………..B
Amount …………………. $85
Senders name ……………?
Reference number ……….?
Thanks for your understanding also waiting for your urgent respond with
the payment details, your urgent response will be highly appreciated.
Feel free to call me on my direct line +229-68049788 if you have any
queries.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
Mr. DOM MIKE.
MONEY GRAM
BENIN REPUBLIC.
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