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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.
- 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. )
- "mtcn" (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.
- 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.
- 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.
- wheadoffice@bk.ru (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: NABI OLOME <online0188@tim.it>
Reply-To: officefileinfowunion@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2017 12:00:01 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: CALL THE DIRECTOR AT +229 98 77 90 82
Transfer Status
Available for pick up by receiver
PAYMENT $5,000.VIA WESTERN UNION
Attn: Dear Customer
First transfer $,5000.out of your Total funds was sent to you via western
union and the fund is ready and available to pickup by receiver. https://wumt.westernunion.com/asp/orderstatus.asp?country=global
MTCN Number: 9958803677
Sender Name: Gilbert Mark
Total Amount Sent: $5,000.00
Money sent by Western Union Agent Mr Gilbert Mark by 8:55am today.Contact
Western union Head Office Director DR.MARTINS JOE,through his email address,if
there is any problem in this transfer.
Here is the Director Head Office contact information:
Director Name:DR.MARTINS JOE
Email Address:(wheadoffice@bk.ru)
Tel Phone: +229 98 77 90 82
Yours sincerely
Western Union Agent
Porto Novo Benin Republic
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Anti-fraud resources:
