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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:
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "service fee" (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. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- unembassy88@yahoo.fr (Yahoo, France; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.Ibe Grace" <fileoffice80@gmail.com>
Reply-To: unembassy88@yahoo.fr
Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2011 02:09:01 +0530 (IST)
Subject: Attention;Sir/Madam,
Attention;Sir/Madam,
Please i want to inform you that your fund was brought to my desk this morning because the director of the western union here in Benin Republic said that they will divert your funds to the Government Treasury account just because that you can not pay for their service fee of your funds which is $95.00 only.
But i told them to wait untill i hear from you today so that i will know the reason why you rejected such amount of money $2.5m which will change your life just because of $95.00.I want your urgent response as soon as you receive this email and explain to me the reason why you should abandon your funds for $95.00. But if you don't need it then i can change your name to another person so that this Government will not claim this money.
You should also send the $95.00 today via western for urgent shipping of your funds package send the $95.00 today via western union below:
Receiver Name===========Ani Peter
Country ========= Benin Republic
City ============= Cotonou
Text Question ========= Urgent
Answer ============ Today
Amount ======== $95.00
Sender Name ====
Mtcn ====
I will wait to hear from you now or you can call me +229 99-88-29-65
Mr.Ibe Grace,
United States Ambassador to the Republic of Benin
E-MAIL:(unembassy88@yahoo.fr)
Tel:- +229 99-88-29-65
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Anti-fraud resources:
