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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Patricia Mahoney <PatriciaMahoney@protonmail.com>
Date: 29 Aug 2021 20:09:41 +0200
Subject: VERY IMPORTANT AND URGENT!!
I am Patricia Mahoney, the new US ambassador to Benin. I received
a total of 2.4 million U.S. dollars from the government of Benin
today as compensation for everything you have experienced in
their country.
This email is sent to you to officially inform you that during
our investigation, we found that your email address was
automatically selected as one of the victim's email addresses.
We would also like to inform you that your funds have been
withdrawn and successfully deposited into a Visa ATM card worth
US$2.4 million, which will be delivered to you by courier
service.
The office will send you a MasterCard, which you will use to
withdraw funds at any ATM machine center or MasterCard branch in
the world, up to a maximum of $5,000 per day.
It is now recommended that you forward the following information
to us before we continue.
1. FULL NAME:
2. FULL ADDRESS:
3. COUNTRY:
4. TEL-PHONE:
5. OCCUPATION:
6. DATE OF BIRTH:
Yours in Service
Ambassador Patricia Mahoney.
U.S Ambassador to Benin.
Direct Tel: +13152752123
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Anti-fraud resources:
