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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "bank charges " (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. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Andy James <jandy6518@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 12:11:07 +0100 (CET)
Subject: URGENT
Dear Manger,
My name is Andy James and i am a engineer for an oil firm. Currently i am offshore drilling and i need to make reservation for 4 of my
clients/Guests who are coming to your country.I will need you to book
accommodation for them for below dates.
CHECK IN: 10/07/2014
CHECK OUT: 20/07/2014
NUMBER OF ROOM : 2 Double rooms
Kindly send me the cost for the entire stay as i will want to settle the payment immediately with my credit card for entire stay for the 4 guests.
Also i will need you to help me pay for the travel ticket (flight ticket fares) to the travel agent who will issue their air tickets once funds are received. Please note that due to the fact that the travel agent just relocated to
another city he is not yet set-up for credit card payments. hat is the reason i will need you to make the charges for the flight ticket
also to my credit card and transfer the funds to the agent once the funds are cleared into your bank account. Please note that i will be compensating
you for all your troubles in regards to bank charges and transportation in the course of doing the transfers. I will pay you additional (250$) for all your efforts and transfer charges. I will be waiting for your swift response to send you guest names.
NB. Flight tickets fare is: (3,600$ )
your commission is:(250$)
TOTAL TO BE CHARGED :
So I will need accommodation totals to make payments for all charges.
Andy James
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Anti-fraud resources:
