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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:
- ",000,000" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Carlson Cohen" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <cohencarlson42@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:49:42 -0800
Subject: Crude Oil Lifting License
To Your Attention Please,
Having reviewed your profile with a keen interest, I deem it necessary to introduce you to a lucrative business opportunity. I'm talking of crude oil trading! This is considered as the most legitimate and fastest money making machinery anyone can setup. A crude oil "lifting license" gives the owner the mandate of the National Oil Company (Suppliers of the crude oil), to locate crude oil buyers and arrange a buy/sale crude oil transaction between the oil company and the crude oil buyers. The "lifting license" syndrome came into place because the national oil company does not deal directly with the buyers of the crude oil rather; they prefer to issue oil "lifting license allocations" to individuals/companies to assist them to market the crude oil which they produce. Anyone that owns an "lifting license" from the local National Oil Company is entitled to a $2.00 commission from the oil company on each barrel of crude sold to the buyer and another $1. 00 commission !
from the buyer. In total, oil lift
Please note that the commission rates of $2.00 and $1.00 normally increases in times of crude oil scarcity. The smallest license allocation/quantity one can procure from the National Oil Company is for the sale of 1million barrels of crude monthly/per transaction. This implies that 1million barrels of crude oil will be assigned to the license owner for sale per month. This allocation size will earn the license owner about ($3.00 multiplied by 1,000,000 barrels) which is $3 million gross commissions monthly. If one is lucky to secure a bigger allocation that means you will be earning more commissions monthly. These commissions will be calculated and paid to the license at the end of the sales transaction. Incase you decide to invest in this money spinning project; I will personally reveal to you a well packaged procedure to acquire an oil lifting license. I will personally assist you to locate the buyers of the crude oil and facilitate the sales transactions for yo!
u while the resulting commissions
You need a "seller agent" to assist you to sale the crude since you are alien to this business and do not know the buyers for the crude oil and all so because you are not locally resident here.
Feel free to ask for clarifications.
Engr. Carlson Cohen
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