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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "activation fee" (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. )
- "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. )
- "mtcn" (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. )
- "(ecowas)" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "cotonou" (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.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- unionwestern961@yahoo.fr (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Dr John Gabriel <pozzogiovanna@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: unionwestern961@yahoo.fr
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2012 19:03:23 +0800 (CST)
Subject: ARE YOU READY TO PICK UP YOUR 5000 USD ????
Attention:Please,
Dear western union customer,
Our Western Union wish
to inform you that United Nation and (ECOWAS) have instructed us to send you the
sum of $2.500,000 USD and $5,000 has already been sent to you as first
collection.
Please: Your need to send our activation
fee $55 before you will see the complete 10 Digit Mtcn number to pick up your
$5000 in western union office in your city,
This payment was sent to you this
morning so act fast by sending the $55 today to pick up your $5000 without delay
Okay.
HERE IS THE Available MTCN for pick up by receiver
BELOW
Sender name===========Peter Johnson
Test question======== WHAT
COLOR
Test answer:============ blue
Amount======== == = $5,000
00
MTCN===========414854****
Traking via www.westernunion.com
Below Is The Instruction For The
Payment
Receiver Name; Chima Stanley
Receiver Country; Benin Republic
City; Cotonou
Text Question; Faith
Answer; In God
Amount....55 usd
Sender's Name...?
Mtcn....?
Do not hesitate as we might be closing
this payment programme this week finally.
this is my mail unionwestern961@yahoo.fr
Best
regard
Dr. John Gabriel
Tel: +229 99426934
Western
Union®
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Anti-fraud resources:
