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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:
- "insurance 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. )
- "security keeping 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. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
- williamespeter12@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.williames. " <info@usa.org>
Reply-To: williamespeter12@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2018 19:18:55 +0100
Subject: ATTENTION BENEFICIARY,
ATTENTION BENEFICIARY,
I AM HERE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT YOUR ATM CARD VALUE $3.950,000 HAS BEEN
PROCESS AND READY FOR THE DELIVERY BECAUSE I HAVE ACTIVATED THE CARD
WITH MY OWN MONEY IN THE AMOUNT OF $655 DOLLARS. THE ONLY MONEY THAT
YOU WILL BE SENDING TO ME NOW IS THE INSURANCE FEE OF THE SECURITY
KEEPING COMPANY TO MOVE YOUR PARCEL TO YOUR ADDRESS IN USA ON SUNDAY
MORNING AND IT WILL ARRIVE MONDAY EST THE OFFICIAL SECURITY KEEPING
FEE WHICH IS $500 DOLLARS AND YOU ARE EXPECTED TO SEND TODAY.
REASON IS TO MAKE SURE THE THERE WILL BE NO DELAY IN TERM OF SERVICE
PROVISION AND WE KNOW THAT YOU NEED THE PARCEL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
GET BACK TO ME IF YOU ARE WILLING TO SEND THE MAILING FEE FOR THE
DELIVERY OF YOUR ATM MASTER CARD AND ITS 4 DIGITS PIN TO YOUR ADDRESS.
YOUR FIRST ACCESS TO THE CARD WILL GRANT YOU $500 DOLLARS ON DAILY
PERMIT BECAUSE IT WAS PROGRAMED TO BE DONE IN THIS WAY OK!
THANK YOU,
Mr Williams
williamespeter12@gmail.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
