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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. )
- "federal republic of benin" (Benin, Cameroon, etc. are no Federal Republics, unlike Nigeria where this type of scam was invented)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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: "MRS. MARY ANN" <"www."@lilac.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: "MRS. MARY ANN" <moneygram12121@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2017 21:01:12 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Money Gram payment
Dear Beneficary
The Board of federal ministry of finance benin republic.are
here to notify you of your payment unds os $2.5M.000. after
the meeting held on 3th of Jun 2017.His Excellence
the PRESIDENT OF FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF BENIN DR CHRISTINE TOM
HAS Instructed this Department to send your funds through
Money Gram Money Transfer for easier receive of your
inherited funds without any further delay.to-avoid paying
money to the fraud stars that is going on through the
global. you are required to send your name and address were
you want your fund to send through Money Gram the maximium
amount you will be receiving each day starting from tomorrow
is the sum of $9000.00 Today.
Beneficiary name---------
address------
tel phone-------
contact with this informations
CONTACT PERSON:DR CHRISTINE TOM
Telephone:+229-62425884
EMAIL:....
we await to receive the Money Gram payment information
today.please if you are not the real beneficiary don`t
respond on this Email call Dr Christine Tom on this number
+229-62425884 for him to know that you
have contacted him with your information.your in service
Mr Christine Tom
finance Minister
Federal republic of Benin
MIS MARY ANN
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Anti-fraud resources:
