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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:
- "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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: "Mr james mark" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <james.mark141@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 22:10:54 +0200
Subject: Notification Your Funds Is Ready For Transfer
Attn: Beneficiary,
This is to notify you that the new president MR GOODLUCK JONATHAN has giving an
instruction to the CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA and to OCEANIC BANK OF NIGERIA also with
the EFCC to release all the funds they have been holding contract paymen /next of kin
inheritance funds /lottery Winners since three years now and we have been giving
instruction here in FIRST BANK NIGERIA PLC to pay out to every owner which your name
and address together with your four point five million was found in the list of the
beneficiaries of the funds, so what you have to do now is to get back to us with your
account details so that your funds can be transfered in to your bank account. MODE OF
PAYMENT
(1)Online wire Transfer
(2) ATM CARD payment
Your Full Name………………..
Your Home Address................
Your Direct Telephone Number………………..
Your Age/ Occupation………………..
Your Bank Name………………..
Bank Account Number………………..
Banking Routing Number or Swift Code………………..
Bank Address………………..
State……City…… Zip…… Code……
Best Regard
Mr james mark
My phone number +2348080823286
Director First Bank Nigeria Plc
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Anti-fraud resources:
