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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:
- "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. )
- "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: "wumt00@workmail.com" <meritoa76@gmail.com>
Reply-To: wumt00@workmail.com
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2022 12:52:48 +0100
Subject: Urgent Attention Beneficiary
DEAR BENEFICIARY CUSTOMER
WESTERN UNION BENIN REPUBLIC-COTONOU OFFICE
HOW YOU TODAY AND YOUR FAMILY?
ATTENTION:
I'm Michael Moore From western union Benin Republic, i know that this email
may look strange to you but i will explain this the way you will understand it.
I was newly appointed the new manager of western union Benin and i wanted to
inform you that i saw your name in one of the files here with some payment
details which you made to receive your fund but i don't know what happened that
Mrs,Jeann Morris who left this office did not allowed you to received your
fund, I decided to write you if you may still be interested to receive your
fund through the power of this office and i know that something went wrong or
maybe they requested so much money from you which you are unable to pay but i
will try my best as a new appointed manager to western union Benin and i will
make sure that you receive your fund this time around to avoid any story again.
However, I was so shocked when I saw your name here and you are very lucky
that she did not clean away your name which means that i can still locate you
through your email address and i'm so sorry for whatever has happened and how
much you spent in the past but be rest assured that i will never disappoint you
like Mrs,Jeann Morris did and all i needed from you now is to re-confirm your
contact address where you will like to receive your fund and all it will cost
you is $55 to renew your Certificate of ownership with your payment file and
you are paying the $55 usd to the attorney who will do the work so that i can
put my signature to enable you receive your $850.000.00 USD after all the
delays.
I will wait to hear from you as soon as you receive this email and this is the
payment details where you should send the $55 usd through Western
Union OR World remit
Transfer today.
Receiver Name -------- PHILIP HUMBLE
Receiver Country ---------- Benin Republic
City:COTONOU
Regards
MICHAEL MOORE
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