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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:
- "million dollars" (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)
- "londonolympicsclaimsdept@live.co.uk" (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!
Fraud email example:
From: "London Olympics Lottery" <londonolympics@london.com>
Reply-To: londonolympicsclaimsdept@live.co.uk
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 09:00:04 -0500
Subject: Your Winning Notification!!!
London Olympic Committee
Online Email Lottery
Attn:Prize Winner,
WE wish to inform you that You have won( 1 million dollars) in the London
Olympics Games online sweepstakes program held on 16th of July 2012.In
London (England) and this email was sent to notify you officially about
the award and to advise you to contact the payment processing office with
your winning details immediately for claim.
(1) Award numbers: UK/56/2012
(2) Email ticket numbers: MSLP-130232
(3) Batch numbers: LOWC/884/8PDH
(4) The file reference numbers: UK/54/06/07/LOWC
(5) Serial Numbers: LOWC/2012/NLP46560
You are also requested to forward these details below to the
Claims Verification Requirements:
1. Full Name:_____________________
2. Address:_____________________
3. Nationality:___________Gender:________
4. Age:_________________
5. Occupation:_____________________
6. Phone:___________Fax:___________
7. Country:___________________
8. How Do You Feel as A Winner:______________
9. Ever Won an Online Lottery?:____________
To file for your claim, Please contact your Validating Officer for claim
of your winning within 14 working days of this winning notification.
Winnings that are not validated within 14 working days of winning
notification are termed void as unclaimed funds will be liquidated by the
Promotion Company. You are required to mention the above particulars of
your award in every correspondence to enable the payment officer to
validate your winning.
All correspondence shall be forwarded to the claims processing officer via
email;
Payment officer; Mr. Jack Williams
Email; londonolympicsclaimsdept@live.co.uk
NOTE:Do not tell people about your Price Award until your money is
successfully handed over to you to avoid disqualification that may arise
from double claim. This is solely to collect your personal information
from you and lay claim over your notification letter that was sent to you
by us, Olympic Committee shall not be held responsible for any loss of
fund arising from the above mentioned.
Congratulations Once Again!!
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Sarry Keithson
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