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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:

Fraud email example:

From: "WESTERN UNION COMPENSATION" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <westernunion.hr@zoho.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2017 17:35:19 -0300
Subject: Western Union settlement: $586 million in refunds bangalore.sales@shaktimetdor.com



--
Western Union settlement: $586 million in refunds

Dear Sir/Madam

You probably know that Western Union runs money transfer services in the United States, UK, Europe, North and South America, Asia and worldwide.

What you might not know is that, according to the Federal Trade Commission, Western Union has known for years that scammers were using its system to commit significant fraud. Probably billions in fraud-related transfers, sent since January 2004. But today, in a global settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice, Western Union agreed to return $586 million to people and create a real and strong anti-fraud program.Well, says the Federal Trade Commission, from January 2004 to July 2017, our company Western Union got more than 550,000 complaints about money transfers made for fraudulent lottery and prizes, online dating, inheritance funds, charity donation funds, family emergency calls, advance-fee loans, and more.

Under the settlement, Western Union will return $586 million through a process of individual compensation. You being among victims of lost funds, Western Union is compensating you with sum of $200,000 U.S Dollars. The company will monitor this transaction to ensure that people are protected.

It won’t be allowed to transmit a money transfer that it knows or should know is a fraud.

As Regards your compensation, please forward your relevant additional information such as Gender, Address, Telephone, Age, Occupation immediately in order for the compensation process to move smoothly.

Thank You For Your Co-Operation

Richard A. Goodman
Director, Chair Of The Audit And Publicity Committee.

Anti-fraud resources: