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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:
- "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: "BARRISTER. MARK EDWARD" <BZB@BZBEA.COM>
Reply-To: newtonmark01@gazeta.pl
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2014 14:55:43 -0500
Subject: For Your Information!!!
Hello,
This is to inform you that due to your inability to adhere completely to the
shipment of the International Certified Check kept in my possession by my
Client Mr Alex who incidentally traveled leaving instructions for the
shipment of the Check when you eventually contact without any payment to
FedEx for delivery,you are hereby advise to send a letter of decline to me
stating the reasons why you have decided to decline or discontinue with
the shipping process as demanded by FedEx for proper documentation prior
to the arrival of my boss to enable me justify my reasons on why the
shipment of your Check by the FedEx service was not a success. A copy of
this letter will be sent to my Boss Before the cancellation of the check
to protect me from facing legal actions in future concerning the shipment
of your Check to you.
Thanks for your anticipated coperation,
LETTER OF DECLINE:
Name of LETTER OF DECLINE...............................
Beneficiary................................................
Reason(s) Of DECLINE....................................
.........................................................
Date .....................................................
Signature .................................................
But if you still want to receive the check of 1.5 million dollars then i
will advise you resend your delivery information and telephone number to
ensure i register the check for delivery to your address and send you the
information to pay the $350.00 dollars to the courier company in US.
If you are still skeptical about this then i will advise you fill out the
decline letter to ensure my client does not take legal action against me.
Regards
Barrister Mark Edward
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