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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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "DR OKELE WILLIAMS" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <memorandumsection1@ovi.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2012 11:44:30 -0400
Subject: PLEASE REPLY
FROM THE DESK OF DR OKELE WILLIAMS
PAYMASTER GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
TEL 234 8033231142
ATTENTION BENEFICIARY,
NOTE THAT IN MY PAYMENT LIST HERE ON MY DESK, I SAW YOUR EMAIL AMONG THE PEOPLE THAT
SUPPOSE TO RECEIVE THERE CONTRACT PAYMENT OF FIVE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND USD .
BE INFORM THAT YOUR ATM MASTER CARD HAS BEEN PROGRAMED IN YOUR FAVOR WITH DAILY ACCESS
WITH DRAWER LIMIT OF FIVE THOUSAND USD PER A DAY .
SO RECONFIRM TO ME THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
YOUR DELIVERY ADDRESS:
YOUR FULL NAME:
YOUR OCCUPATION AND AGE:
YOUR DIRECT TELEPHONE NUMBER:
YOUR NEAREST AIRPORT:
FURTHER, NOTE YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE COURIER DELIVERY COST OF YOUR ATM
CARD TO ENABLE THE COURIER DELIVERY SERVICE TO AIRLIFT YOUR ATM MASTER CARD AND DELIVER
IT TO YOUR DOOR STEP .
THANKS
DR OKELE WILLIAMS
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Anti-fraud resources:
