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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:
- "activation 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. )
- "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. )
- "i am using this medium to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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.
- +229 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
- 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.
- w.u_88@sify.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Meilse Erc <meilseerc@yahoo.com.ph>
Reply-To: w.u_88@sify.com
Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:15:18 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: FUND TRANSFER OF $3000:00 USD
P {
MARGIN: 0px
}
UL {
MARGIN-TOP: 5px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5px
}
OL {
MARGIN-TOP: 5px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5px
}
ATTN:BENEFICIARY.
FUND TRANSFER OF $3000:00 USD
THIS IS TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR FUNDS OF
US$1,5MILLION WHICH WAS PLACED ON HOLD BY THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDS FOR
THE PAST FEW MONTHS AGO HAS BEEN RLEASED AND WE DID NOT HEAR FROM YOU SINCE,
RIGHT NOW INFORMATION REACHING US FROM OUR CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS NOW STATES
THAT YOU ONLY HAVE 48HOURS TO EFFECT PAYMENT FOR THE ACTIVATION OF YOUR MTCN TO
ENABLE YOU CASH UP YOUR FIRST $3,000.00 FROM YOUR TOTAL FUND OF US$1,5MILLION
AND YOU WILL BE RECEIVING US$3000.00 PER DAY UNTIL YOUR TOTAL AMOUNT FUND IS
TRANSFERED COMPLETELY.
YOU ARE TO PAY WHAT EVER YOU HAVE FOR
THE ACTIVATION FEE; WE WILL ACTIVATE YOUR MTCN UPON RECEIPT OF THIS PAYMENT.
HERE IS THE PAYMENT FOR THE $6000.00 USD BUT YOU CAN NOT PICK IT UP BECUASE THE
CHAIRMAN OF THE WESTERN UNION SAY THAT BEFORE YOU PICK THAT MONEY YOU MUCH PAY
THE ANY AMOUNT YOU HAVE OK
Sender's first Name== MACHI
Sender, last Name==ALEX
Text Q=======sun?
Answer=======Rain
MTCN NUMBER: 693-093-2408
Amount======$6000:00 USD
Received Thomas E Jones
BE INFORMED THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY
THE BALANCE SUM OF YOUR ACTIVATION UPON CASHING UP OF YOUR FIRST $3000:00 USD,
ALSO I AM USING THIS MEDIUM TO INFORM YOU THAT FAILURE TO PAY THE BALANCE SUM
WILL LEAVE US WITH NO OPTION BUT TO DEACTIVATE YOUR MTCN OF WHICH YOU WILL AND
CAN NEVER CASH UP THE BALANCE SUM I WANT YOU TO SEND THE RENEWING AND TRANSFER
FEE WITH THE INFORMATION BELLOW.
1.RECEIVER NAME:.....MR OBI
MAXWELL
2.COUNTRY:...........BENIN
REPUBLIC
3.CITY :.............COTONOU
4.TEST QUESTION:.....AA
5.TEST ANSWER:.......BB
6.AMOUNT ............ANY
7.SENDER NAME........?
8.MTCN NUMBER.........?
SEND US THE MTCN NUMBER IMMEDIATELY YOU
SEND THE MONEY AND IMMEDIATELY WE CONFIRM THE TRANSFER FEE WE WILL SEND YOU THE
FIRST RECIEPT OF YOUR $3000:00 USD TODAY AND NOT TOMORROW REGARDS MY DIRECT
PHONE LINE IS +229_93185796 CONTACT THIS EMAIL:w.u_88@sify.com DR PETER HENRY
FROM WESTERN UNION OFFICE BENIN REPUBLIC FOR YOUR PAYMENT
DR PETER HENRY
OPRATION MANAGER
WESTERN UNION DEPARTMENT
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Anti-fraud resources:
