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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:
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
- "we advice you" (this email uses bad English)
- "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. )
- "admin@lotstaats.nl" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Ian Skillen" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <frankgribbin@postino.net>
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2010 04:57:59 +0200
Subject: Lotto NL
De (Netherlands) Lotto NL.
File Serial No: NL-00410/40BZ.
Payment Ref No: HL42230-13ILL
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
We are pleased to announce to you the out come of our Internet Sweepstake program that was conducted on the 25th Day of October, 2010. This e-mail address with a File Serial Number: NL-00410/40BZ which was extracted among other e-mail addresses from the Internet Data Base has won you the email beneficiary cash prize money of €550,000 Only (Five Hundred and Fifty Thousand Euros Only). You are advice to contact our Payment Department through the below stated details for the release of your prize money.
Mr. Frank Gribbin.
Tel: +31-617-271-235
Fax: +31-208-908-643
Email: admin@lotstaats.nl
Email: frankgribbin@postino.net
As part of our security protocol/record purposes, we kindly ask that you keep your winning information securely should in case you were requested to reconfirm the winning details in future references. This lottery program was conducted and sponsored by us and in conjunction with a consortium of software companies. Your winning must be claimed not later than the 28days of your receipt of this message hence we advice you provide our payment department as mentioned above with the below stated details for the processing of your payment file.
1). Complete Full Names:
2). Nationality:
3). Occupation:
4). Phone/Fax Numbers:
5). A Scan Copy of any valid proof of your Identification like International Passport or Driver’s License that will be use for the processing of your payment file:
I WANT TO BE PAID BY: a / BANK TRANSFER. b/ PERSONAL COLLECTION. c/ CHEQUE
BENEFICIARY’S BANK DETAILS
Bank Name:_____________________
Account No:____________________
Swift Code:____________________
We do not need your banking details if you prefer options B and A. Send your details by fax if you find it difficult sending an email.
Congratulations and thanks for being part of our Lottery program.
Sincerely yours,
Ian Skillen. (Programs Coordinator)
For: Lotto NL. (Lotto is een onderdeel van De Lotto).
Copyright(c) 2009 by De Lotto, the Netherlands.
Website: http://lotto.nl
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