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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:
- "activation fee" (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. )
- "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. )
- "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.
Fraud email example:
From: MR Robert Ben <"www."@gold.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: MR Robert Ben <robertben988@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2017 20:41:36 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Hello
I WRITE TO INFORM YOU THAT EVERY NECESSARY ARRANGEMENT HAVE BEEN DONE AND WHAT YOU WILL DO RIGHT NOW IS TO PROCEED TO NEAREST WESTERN UNION IN YOUR CITY AND SEND Your Activation fee of $200.00 before you are enabled to pick up your first payment at any agent location, do take note of this,that you are to pay the $200.00 before picking up your first payment IMMEDIATELY TO ENABLE US RELEASE YOUR FIRST PAYMENT $4,199 WITHOUT ANY FURTHER DELAY.
HERE IS THE INFORMATION IN WHICH YOU WILL USE IN SENDING THE FEES.
Receiver's Name:.......... FELIS IKE
Country:........................Benin Republic
City:............................ Cotonou
Amount:.......................$200.00USD
Sender's Name:..................??
MTCN....................................??
AS SOON AS YOU SEND THE money MAKE SURE YOU SEND ME THE PAYMENT INFORMATION. ALSO YOU ARE TO FORWARD TO US ANY MAIL THAT YOU HAVE BEEN RECEIVING FROM PEOPLE FOR PROPER VERIFICATION AND INVESTIGATION BEFORE YOU DEAL WITH THEM OKAY.
Best regards
MR Robert Ben
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