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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "national lottery promotion" (no such lottery exists)
- "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "clear source of funds certificate" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
- "certificates of origin of funds" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
- "affidavit of claim" (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 ever send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally. )
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "courier service" (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. 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.
- +447031941793 (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.
- fulger_man27@yahoo.com
- interlinkcourierserviceltd@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: UK Claims Agent <ukclaimsdepartment003@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 16:04:47 +0000
Subject: RE: CONTACT THE DELIVERY DEPARTMENT (Vera Steinman)
THE BRITISH ONLINE GAME 2007 . UK NATIONAL LOTTERY HEADQUARTERS: P O Box 1010 Liverpool, L70 1NL UNITED KINGDOM (Customer Services)
WINNING PARAMETERSREF No: UK/9420X2/68 BATCH No: 200074/05/ZY369 TICKET No: 20511465463-7644 SERIAL No: S/N-00168
Winner's Name:Vera Steinman
Raffle Draw Winning Email: (fulger_man27@yahoo.com)Date: 7th November, 2007
ATTN: Vera Steinman,
We hereby inform you that we have processed your payment and your cheque is ready for disbursement, along with:
(1).WINNING CERTIFICATE FROM UK NATIONAL LOTTERY PROMOTIONS.(2).CLEAR SOURCE OF FUNDS CERTIFICATES (C.S.F.C.);(3).CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN OF FUNDS (C.O.F.).
(4). AFFIDAVIT OF CLAIM.
Your winnings is not in cash form but in Bank Cheque, this advice complies with the Anti-Fraud section 2, sub section (IV) of the procedural manual of the funds disbursement agreement existing between courier companies and the British Government.
We have then forwarded your winning cheque to the courier firm that will handle the delivery. It will be delivered to you after you have contacted them. You are to proceed to your bank with the cheque to cash it once you receive it.
LAST WINNERS ON UK-NATIONAL LOTTERY
Copyright © 1994-2007 The UK- National Lottery Inc.All rights reserved. Terms of Service - Guideline
77635 476378 255667460
You are to send your personal information along so that they will remmit your consignment to your stipulated adresss.
1:FULL NAME:
2:ADRESS:
3:TEL:
4:COUNTRY:5:COMPANY:
6: A COPY OF YOUR ID CARD OR DRIVING LICENSE
You are to contact the courier at once with your full name and address on the requirements to sending your cheque to you. Below are their contact details:
INTER-LINK COURIER SERVICE
Email: interlinkcourierserviceltd@hotmail.com
customercare_interdeliverydept@htomail.com
Manager's Name: Mr. David Denham
Tel:+44 703 194 1793
+44 704 573 4684
Once Again Congratulations from all the staff and memebrs of the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY BOARD.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
Mr.Brown Walter
FIDUCIARY CLAIMS AGENTS,UK NATIONAL
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:
