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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:
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- 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: "FBI" <abc@com.tw>
Date:
Subject:
Greetings.
After proper and several investigations and research at Western
Union and Money Gram Office, we found your name in Western Union
database among those that have sent money through Western Union
and this proves that you have truly been swindled by those
unscrupulous persons by sending money to them through Western
Union/Money Gram in the course of getting one fund or the other
that is not real.
In this regard a meeting was held between the Board of Directors
of WESTERN UNION, MONEY GRAM, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) alongside with the IRS, As a consequence of our
investigations it was agreed that the sum of Three Million Five
Hundred Thousand United States Dollars ($3.5MILLION USD) should
be transferred to you out from the funds that the United States
Department of the Treasury has set aside as compensation payment
for scam victims. This case would be handled and supervised by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
We have submitted your details to them so that your funds can be
transferred to you.
Contact the Western Union agent office through the information
below:
Contact Person: Vickie Kries
Address: Western Union/Money gram Post Office, Florida USA.
Email: redacted@domain.name
Yours sincerely,
Christopher A. Wray
DIRECTOR FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535
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Anti-fraud resources: