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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.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "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.
- +447024095859 (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.
- libertyremittance@uk2.net (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "NEWCASTLE FC AWARD" <newcastlefcaward@mailbox.hu>
Date: Wed, 4 Jun 2008 09:53:36 +0100
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!! (YOUR WINNING AWARD NOTIFICATION)
Newcastle FC Award Promotions,
Newcastle United Football Club,
St. James Park,Newcastle,
NE1 4ST,United Kingdom.
Date: 30th May,2008.
MOTTO: FIGHTING POVERTY AROUND THE WORLD
Dear Winner,
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the just concluded annual
final draws of the NEWCASTLE FC AWARD PROMO 2007/2008.The
Newcastle FC award draws was conducted from an exclusive list of
25,000,000 e-mail addresses of individual and corporate bodies picked
by an advanced automated random computer ballot search from the
internet as part of our nternational promotions program which we conduct
every year.No tickets were sold.
After this automated computer ballot,your e-mail address attached to
serial number 25-6565 drew the winning numbers 6-13-18-24-33-39 which
consequently emerged you as one of the first ten (10) lucky winners in
this category.You have therefore been approved for lump sum payout of
200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousands GB pounds) in cheque credited to file
LR/19-CH/4310.
Contact the releasing agent below for your winning cheque of GBP
200,000.00 with your Reference number (LR/19-CH/4310) and Batch
number (LR/05/0018) as a subject.A scan copy of your identity
will also be necessary for your identification.
Send your informations to:
Mr Frank Minal,
Liberty Security Company Agent,
Telephone: (+44)702-409-5859
Primary Email: libertyremittance@uk2.net
Congratulations once again from all members of our staffs.
Yours Faithfully,
Mrs Anna Anderson,
Notification Officer,
Newcastle Award.
Anti-fraud resources:
