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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:
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Alfred Macrea" <office--------5458@att.net>
Reply-To: mr-alfredmacrea@live.com
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 02:33:08 -0800 (PST)
Subject: NOTIFICATION OF CREDIT FROM BANK OF AMERICA
NOTIFICATION OF CREDIT FROM BANK OF AMERICA
BANK OF AMERICA TRANSFER NOTIFICATIONFOREIGN OPERATION DEPARTMENT
WASHINGTON BRANCH U.S.A
NOTIFICATION OF CREDIT FROM BANK OF AMERICA ATTENTION DEAR BENEFICIARY, Bank Of America Transaction Notification Service (BankAME-TNS)
Please be informed that the following transaction will occur on your account with us
=================================================================
Alert Type : DR-TNS
Account Currency : USD
Transaction Location : Bank Of America Washington Branch
Description : Cash Transfer-17012796-6279550342000075642
Amount : 10.500.000.00==============================================================
We received an instructional letter from the office of the president under the leadership of president Barrack Obama to credit $10.5 million into your account with immediate effect. Your name and personal information reflected on our central computer as an unpaid contract fund owned by the past administration of president George W. Bush.
We wish to let you know that all hands are on desk to ensure a smooth transaction and success of this contract fund to be credited into your account without further delay.
We need the following information to transfer your fund to you:
===============================================================
1. Bank name:
2. Bank address:
3. Account number:
4. Swift code:
5. Routing number:
6. Account name:
7. A scan copy of your ID card or passport:
8. Your phone number:
===============================================================
Your urgent response to this mail is required to enable us proceed and credit your fund into your bank account. You must get back to us with a reconfirmation of your banking information for proper verification and transfer of your fund.Yours in Service:
Mr. Alfred Macrea
A/C officer Washington Branch.
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Anti-fraud resources:
