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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
- They don't notify winners by email.
- You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
- They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
- They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
- They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
- They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
- They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +447045715838 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
- 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.
- tnt_services_company@hotpop.com
Fraud email example:
From: "agent susan" <susanagentawards001@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:35:48 -0700
Subject: ORDER NUMBER: M23264655
*[image: The National Lottery logo] *
*The Marina Offices, *
*St Peters Yacht Basin**,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 1HX England *
*(Customer Services)*
**
*ATTN:Sanusi Sulaiman Dan-Ali,*
* Good day to you. In regards to your last mail to us, We have sent your
cheque and other vital documents relating to your winnings to our affilaite
courier company, TNT Courier Company Ltd.*
*It is important to note that services rendered by this courier company are
to be paid for by you and not the Lottery Board. TNT Courier does operate on
Pay before delivery (P.B.D) service to winners of the UK National Lottery
thus they shall not commence delivery until they are paid. *
*See below the contact information of the Dispatch officer officer. You are
advised to act accordingly.
**Dispatch Officer
NAME: MR. PETER GREEN*
*E-MAIL:tnt_services_company@HotPOP.com*
*Tel:* *+44 70457 15838*
**
*ORDER NUMBER: M23264655*
**
*You are to quote your order number if possible write it down.*
*You are expected to furnish them with your telephone number and full
mailing address details for delivery purpose.*
*Regards *
*SUSAN THOMAS*
*FIDUCIARY AGENT*
*UK National Lottery.*
* *
Anti-fraud resources: