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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:
- "money laundering" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
- "claims director" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "cashiers check" (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. )
- "felicia.cooke@qq.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- 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: "DFID AWARD COMMITTEE" <iqbalm@azizco.com>
Reply-To: felicia.cooke@qq.com
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 09:22:29 +0100 (BST)
Subject:
Good day and greetings to you.
This is to bring to your notice that you have been awarded the sum of Nine
Hundred and Eighty Thousand United States Dollars courtesy of the
Department of International Development (DFID). An International Cashiers
Check for the money will be sent to you.
To file for claim, send your FULL NAMES, HOME ADDRESS, CONTACT PHONE
NUMBER and NATIONALITY to the claims director Dr. Felicia Cooke whose
contact details is as below;
PHONE: +234-817-9944240
EMAIL: felicia.cooke@qq.com
Note that all the delivery and processing charges will be settled by DFID.
However, the charges for the money laundering clearance must be paid by
the recipient of the money in-line with international requirements. The
money laundering clearance is 0.05% of the fund to be remitted ($490.00 US
Dollars).
Congratulations and thanks for your co-operation.
Mr. James Morrison
CHAIRMAN AWARD COMMITTEE
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