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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:
- "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "certified bank draft" (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.
- +447045744923 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: "Chevron/Texaco Oil Company." <info@uk.com>
Reply-To: chevrontexaco@secretarias.com
Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:48:23 +0430
Subject: Good Day.
CHEVRON/TEXACO OIL COMPANY(AFRICA) AND BARCLAYS BANK OF ENGLAND(UNITED
KINGDOM) has offered you the prize sum of £500,000.00 GBP in the
on-going email ballotting held for the month of May 2009.Your email
address was selected randomly along side four(4) other email addresses.
We the Management and staffs of these great economic institutions are
pleased to> inform you that you along side four(4) other lucky winners
have been approved for a payment of £500,000.00 GBP (Five hundred
thousand Great Britain Pounds Sterling) in a Certified Bank Draft.
If you did receive this email, it means you are one of the five(5)
lucky winners. Your verification number is: (CTBBE-222-6747,FGN/P-900-56). You
are required to request for a Scanned copy of your certified bank draft signed
by the Barclays Bank of England from the office of the Claims Processing
Officer as proof that this is not a FRAUDULENT ACT OR A SCAM.
Claim Processing Officer:
Name: Dr.Garrick Moore
Email: chevrontexaco@secretarias.com
Tel: (+44)-704-574-4923.
Fax: (44)-704-575-4945
You are also advised to provide him with the under listed information
as soon as possible:
NAME IN FULL:
DELIVERY ADDRESS:
AGE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
PHONE:
ANNUAL INCOME:
We are glad to have you as one of our lucky winners.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Rose Wood.(Online Co-ordinator)
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