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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. )
- 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 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.
- tntcourierservices_001@yahoo.co.uk
Fraud email example:
From: Susan Thomas <tundalballuknationallotteryaward@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 08:17:39 +0100 (BST)
Subject: ORDER NUMBER: M23264655
The Marina Offices,
St Peters Yacht Basin,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 1HX England
(Customer Services)
Dear Winner,
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 affiliate 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. The courier charges are low
See below the contact information of the Dispatch officer officer. You are advised to act accordingly.
Dispatch Officer
NAME: MR. PETER GREEN
E-MAIL:tntcourierservices_001@yahoo.co.uk
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.
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Anti-fraud resources:
