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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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. )
- "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. )
- 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.
- 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.
- offile535@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: OFFCE FILE <youngdemocratforatiku2023@gmail.com>
Reply-To: offile535@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2023 18:51:06 +0100
Subject: FBI PAYMENTS
This is Christopher Wray, the FBI Director,
I am contacting you regarding your pending package worth of $50m.
We have been monitoring you all this while and we are suspecting that
you might have been into illegal transactions as a result of your
pending fund worth of $50m.
We are writing to officially let you know that we will hold you in our
custody if you continue with the illegal transactions and to
officially let you know that we are in control of your fund now and
advise you to stop any further communication with anyone concerning
this matter.
We have all your information including your account details. If you
ignore this message, we will start by blocking your account. It will
also let you advisor know what you have been it and all your fund and
properties will be confiscated.
We have chosen to deliver cash through USPS to give you the avenue of
having the tracking details as evidence of your fund but you can still
Choose from the following other options and note that each option has
one and only one time fee to be paid stated as below
1. Cash::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::$400
2. Bank Transfer:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::$250
3. Cheque::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::$$250
4. Atm:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::$150
5. Through western Union or Moneygram:::::::::::$100
The above options are ways of get your fund.
Mr. Christopher Wray
Director,FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, DC 20535-0001
Yours in service,
(offile535@gmail.com)
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Anti-fraud resources:
