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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:
- "western union" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "money gram" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "united state of america" (this email uses bad English)
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
- 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: "AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. MCCAULEY" <ambassmccauleyp8@msn.com>
Reply-To: <ministryforeignaffairs@europe.com>
Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2012 00:16:35 +0000
Subject: WHY DID YOU???
US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA
11 GARKI ROAD ABUJA
ABUJA, NIGERIA
ATTN:
I
AM AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. MCCULLEY I WAS APPOINTED AS THE NEW AMBASSADOR
OF UNITED STATE OF AMERICAN TO NIGERIA I WAS REPLACE AFTER AMBASSADOR
ROBIN RENEE SANDERS OUTGOING, WELL EVENTUALLY PLEASE I WANT TO INFORM
YOU THAT YOUR FUND FILE WAS BROUGHT TO MY DESK THIS MORNING BECAUSE THE
SECRETARY OF UNITED NATION HERE IN FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA SAID THAT
THEY WILL DIVERT YOUR COMPENSATION FUND TO THE GOVERNMENT TREASURY
ACCOUNT JUST BECAUSE YOU FAILED TO PAY FOR THEIR FEE OF YOUR FUND WHICH
IS JUST $185 USD ONLY.
BUT I TOLD THEM TO WAIT UNTIL I HEAR FROM
YOU TODAY SO THAT I WILL KNOW THE REASON WHY YOU REJECTED SUCH AMOUNT
OF MONEY $15.5MILLION WHICH IS A COMPENSATION FROM UNITED NATION AND
WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE JUST BECAUSE OF $185USD I WANT YOUR URGENT
RESPONSE AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS EMAIL AND EXPLAIN TO ME THE
REASON WHY YOU SHOULD ABANDON AND YOU HAVE SPEND A LOT OF MONEY TO GET
THIS DONE BUT YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR FUND BUT I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW
THAT I WILL BE COMING TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING ON FRIDAY
AND IF YOU WILL LIKE I WILL BE BRINGING YOUR FUNDS OF US$15.5MILLION
ALONG WITH ME BUT THIS TIME I WILL NOT GO THROUGH CUSTOMS BECAUSE AS AN
AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA, I AM A US GOVERNMENT AGENT AND I HAVE THE VETO
POWER TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMS.
AS SOON AS I AM THROUGH WITH THE MEETING I
SHALL THEN PROCEED TO YOUR ADDRESS. FULL NAME:
ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY
CELL NUMBER:
HOME NUMBER:
OCCUPATION AND AGE:
A COPY OF VALID ID
WHERE YOU WANT ME TO BRING THE PACKAGE TO ENABLE ME REGISTER YOUR FUND IMMEDIATELY).
YOUR FUND OR
IF YOU DON'T NEED IT THEN I CAN CHANGE YOUR NAME TO ANOTHER PERSON SO
THAT THE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OF FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
WILL NOT CLAIM THIS MONEY FOR THEIR SELFISH INTEREST, SO PLEASE I WILL
LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOUR OWN SIDE TO KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS SO THAT WE
CAN KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT THIS.
YOU
HAVE REALLY PAID SO MUCH IN THIS DELIVERY THAT MAKES ME WONDER. YOU ARE
A VERY LUCKY PERSON BECAUSE I SHALL BE BRINGING IT MYSELF AND THERE IS
NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT.
YOUR PACKAGE(US$15.5MILLION)
MUST BE REGISTERED AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE FOR ME TO DEFEAT ALL ODDS
AND THE COST OF REGISTERING IT IS $185.THE FEE MUST BE PAID IN THE
NEXT 50 HOURS VIA WESTERN UNION SO THAT ALL NECESSARY
ARRANGEMENT CAN BE MADE BEFORE TIME WILL BE AGAINST US.
SEND THE FEE VIA MONEY GRAM OR WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER
RECEIVER'S NAME: KASEY ESO
ADDRESS: LAGOS, NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION: IN GOD?
ANSWER: WE TRUST
AMOUNT $185
AS SOON AS YOU SEND THE FEE MAKE SURE YOU SEND ME THE PAYMENT INFORMATION.
MY
FLIGHT IS FRIDAY AND I EXPECT YOU TO COMPLY BEFORE THEN SO THAT THE
DELIVERY CAN BE COMPLETED. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, THEN IT WILL NOT BE MY
FAULT IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR
PACKAGE.
OFFICIALLY SIGNED
AMBASSADOR TERENCE P. MCCAULEY.
UNITED STATE OF AMERICA AMBASSADOR
TELEPHONE NUMBER +234
8125540400.
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