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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. )
- "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. )
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
- "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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Foreign Remittance (Bank Of America)" <info.atmremittancedepartm@gmail.com>
Reply-To: info.remittancedepatm@yandex.com
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:14:55 +0100
Subject: Pickup Your fund @ Nearest Payment Office this morning..
My Greetings to you ,
We receive the email you sent and the informations, Please you have
to understand that Mr. Micheal Franco came all the way from usa to
claim your payment this morning. Please here come a very big question,
do we pay him? and he said that you are dead. Please reconfirm is
your full details and your direct telephone contact and your passport/
the payment details this morning, if you know is not turth. Please
note that this is the final payment that you have to made to receive
your fund in your nearest bank this morning. Please let us know your
nearest bank address so that we can send them a letter of
recomendation and your transfer code for withdrawing.
I write to inform you that your funds has been called up for payment
and specially encoded to prevent any unlawful withdrawal or diversion
. and transfer will be completed upon your immediate compliance today
.you will receive your transfer in your destination banking address to
pick up the cash at any convenient bank locate in your area and the
address you giving to us.from the rules guiding this payment you as
the the beneficiary will pay for the urgent dispatch fee US$36. to
ensure this funds get to you on time with maximum security. upon
sending the fee we will commence immediate today.
please do provide the above information accurately, because this
office cannot afford to be held liable for any wrong transfer of funds
or liability of funds credited into a ghost account. Pleease note that
you are advice to send the require fee of $36 with the below details
by Western Union only.
Receives Name:--------Ifeanyi Chukwu John
Country:--------- Benin Republic
City/state:--------- Cotonou.
Question:--------- What Color?
Answer:-------- -Blue
Amount:--------- $36
MTCN:---------
Please try all you can to send me the payment details today as soon as
you send the requested fee of $36 today so that we can finishup the
transfer by today without any further delay again. N/B: Please dont
forget to send us your full account details this morning so that we
can proceed immediately.
Waiting to hear from you soon.
All the best
Eric Lee
Bank of America.
Senior manager, Foreign Remittance (Bank Of America)
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Anti-fraud resources:
