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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:
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- 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.
- 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.
- tntexpressonline@mail2world.com (Mail2world; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Microsoft Corporation Promotion" <info@tnt.com>
Reply-To: tntexpressonline@mail2world.com
Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2013 17:05:52 -0600
Subject:
=?iso-8859-1?Q?Atenci=F3n=2C_seleccionado_correo_electr=F3nico__2013?=
Atención Beneficiario,
Esto es para informarle oficialmente de que su correo electrónico ha sido
ramdomly seleccionado del sorteo email equipo, que se ganó el suma de $
450.000 USD {ciento setenta y cinco mil Dólares de los Estados} con una
nueva computadora portátil HP en el en- Microsoft va Corporación de
Promoción de lotería en línea en junto con West Africa Oil & Gas Limited,
que ha sido procesada y enviada a TNT Express para entrega inmediata de su
cheque bancario certificado de $ 450.000 USD {Four Hundred y Setenta y
Cinco Mil Dólares de los Estados Unidos} con la Laptop HP computadora.
Se le aconsejo que transmita la siguiente información al correo TNT
Express service {} para su envío de su certificado cheque bancario y el
ordenador portátil de HP a su puerta en su país.
Nombre Completo:
Contac Dirección:
País:
Estado:
Ocupación:
edad:
Sexo:
Email:
Número de teléfono:
No de fax:
Se le recomendamos contactar con el servicio de mensajería TNT Express {}
con su información de contacto a continuación:
Sr. Paul Adams {Oficial Jefe de Despacho}
Contacto Dirección: 2nd Floor, Mall Efand, Wuse 2 Abuja, West Africa .
Email: tntexpressonline@mail2world.com
Teléfono: +2348185606782
Tenga en cuenta que usted debe ser responsable de los gastos de
mantenimiento de la seguridad de $ 100 USD inmediatamente en contacto con
usted TNT Express.
Una vez más felicitaciones de todo el personal de esta lotería
bordo.
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Anti-fraud resources:
