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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:
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "moneygram" (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. )
- "money gram" (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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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.
- MoneyGram money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. Along with Western Union it is a preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
Fraud email example:
From: Dr Raymond Morgan <jeffdenis4356@gmail.com>
Reply-To: info@dfcubn.com
Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2022 00:02:52 -0800
Subject: WE AGREED TO TRANSFER YOUR FUNDS THROUGH ONLINE TRANSFER
This email originated from outside of K-State.
MONEY GRAM TRANSFER.
WEBSITE; https://secure.moneygram.com/embed/track?_ga=2.199350184.727966315.1670432216-684746827.1670432216]
CUSTOMER CARE: customercare@developmentfinancecu.com
 12/23/2022 10:46 AM
ATTENTION DEAR.
AFTER WE RECEIVED YOUR INFORMATION, WE INSTANTLY TRANSFER THE FIRST
PAYMENT OF $5000 IN YOUR NAME. AND AS I WAS TRYING TO EMAIL YOU THE
INFORMATION YOU SHOULD USE TO PICK UP THE PAYMENT IN YOUR COUNTRY, I
THEN GOT AN ALERT FROM WESTERN UNION HEAD OFFICE HERE, THAT THE $5000
WE TRANSFERRED AND THE REMAINING OF( $2.800`000`00USD ) HAS BEEN ON
HOLD THROUGH OUR NETWORK BY THE HEAD OFFICE.
I ASKED THEM WHY THEY SAID THAT THE HOMELAND SECURITY HERE IN UNITED
STATE REPORTED TO THEM THAT WE ARE TRANSFERRING SUCH AMOUNT OF MONEY
WITHOUT THE HOMELAND SECURITY CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE. SO, AFTER I CUT
OFF THE CONVERSATION WITH THE HEAD OFFICE, I CALLED THE HOMELAND
SECURITY COMPANY TO KNOW HOW THE CLEARANCE COULD BE OBTAINED FROM THEM
AND THE COST OF OBTAINING IT AND THEY SAID THAT IT WILL COST ONLY
US$100.00 IF YOU ARE READY TO RECEIVE THE REMITTANCE PAYMENT WESTERN
UNION.
BELOW IS YOUR MTCN NUMBER YOU CAN TRACK IT WITH THE WEBSITE BELOW OR ABOVE.
REFERENCE NUMBER: 95184687
SENDER NAME..BAYO
Amount: $5000.00
 [https://secure.moneygram.com/embed/track?_ga=2.199350184.727966315.1670432216-684746827.1670432216]
THE MANAGEMENT OF MONEY GRAM TRANSFER OFFICE.DISPATCHED THIS
TODAY. PLEASE WE NEED TO CONFIRM YOUR INFORMATION TO BE SURE WE ARE
DEALING WITH OWNER OF THIS EMAIL OK.
1. YOUR FULL NAME:......
2. YOUR ADDRESS:........
3. YOUR COUNTRY:........
5. YOUR AGE:............
6. YOUR PHONE NO:.......
URGENT ACTION IS NEEDED AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS EMAIL. GET BACK
WITH REQUIRED INFORMATION. TEXT TO THE NUMBER HERE. +256709436601.
THANK YOU.
SINCERELY,
MR. MARK ZAVALA.
EMAIL: (customercare@developmentfinancecu.com)
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Anti-fraud resources:
