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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:
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "mrsgraciouswilliams@luckymail.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- "mrsgraciouswilliams@luckymail.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: British High =?iso-8859-9?Q?Commission=AE?= <info@atm.com>
Reply-To: doriesmorgan@luckymail.com
Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2010 00:12:33 +0200 (EET)
Subject: Accredited ATM Card
Senate House®
---DEPUIS 1725---
276xc Committee On foreign Payment,
Resolution Panel On Contract Payment.
Ikoyi-Lagos Nigeria
Your Ref #:ATM/LAG/NG
Phone :+234 805143536 (West Africa Office)
E-mail: mrsgraciouswilliams@luckymail.com
Accredited ATM Card(231) awarded for contract payment of $6.8 MILLION
USD.with Card Number; 652805001110004432 has been allocated in your favor,
contact Mrs. Gracious Williams (mrsgraciouswilliams@luckymail.com)with the
following
nformation's;
FULL NAME:
DELIVERY ADDRESS:
PHONE:NUMBER:
COUNTRY:
OCCUPATION:
SEX:
AGE:
Note:The only fees you have to pay to the courier company is the delivery
fee of US$100, Find below this mail is the payment information you are to
follow.
Receivers Name :..... Mr. Mark Edward
Receivers Address :....No 67 Marine Road Apapa Lagos
Receivers Country :..... Nigeria.
Test Question :...... Colour
Answer : .......Blue
AMOUNT SENT:......$100.00 USD
M.T.C.N NUMBER:
Get back to me with your payment details. Note that your tracking number
would be provided to you as soon as the payment has been made and confirmed
by FedEx Courier company.
Have a wonderful time. Please call us anytime you need any assistance.
Best Regards,
Senator David A.B.Mark
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