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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:
- "account opening" (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: "DR BRIAN MOYNIHAN" (may be fake)
Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 17:46:57 -0400
Subject: Apology Letter on Your Pending Charity
Apology Letter
It is with great concern and regret we received a letter from the Government of Ghana on the directive of the Apex Bank outlining the problem you had with our service on the release of the charity funds which has been delay due to the lack of unprofessional and fraudlent activity of the Ghana Bank.
First and foremost, on behalf of the Government of Ghana and the Central Bank of Ghana, I would like to personally apologize for your inconvenience. We accept full responsibility for the mistake and I assure you we are taking the necessary steps to prevent it from happening in the future. Thank you and the apex bank for bringing this matter to our attention.
We value our customers and ask you to please feel free to continue to provide feedback about our services.
ROADMAP ON THE RELEASE OF THE PENDING FUNDS.
PLEASE BE INFORMED THAT AFTER SERIES OF MEETING HELD WITH THE CENTRAL BANK OF GHANA OFFICIALS AND MANAGEMENT ON THE RELEASE OF THE PENDING FUNDS.
I WAS LIABLE INFORMED THAT YOUR ACCOUNT WITH YOUR LOCAL BANK IN YOUR COUNTRY HAS NEVER RECEIVE HUGE VOLUME OF FUNDS FROM FOREIGN COUNTRY LIKE AFRICA AND AS A RESULT OF THIS IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO CREDIT YOUR ACCOUNT BECAUSE OF THE NEW LAWS AND POLICY OF THE RESERVE BANK WHICH IS THE APEX BANK OF AMERICA CONTROLLING THE ACTIVITIES OF ALL BANKS IN AMERICA.
AS A RESULT OF THIS, WE ARE LIABLE ADVISE TO KINDLY OPEN A NON RESIDENCE ACCOUNT IN YOUR NAME WITH THE APEX BANK SO THAT IT WILL REFLECT IN THE DOCUMENTATION THAT WILL BE SUBMITTED TO YOUR BANK HEADQUARTERS THAT THE TRANSFER FUNDS IS COMING FROM YOUR ACCOUNT NAME WITH OUR BANK TO YOUR OWN ACCOUNT NAME WITH YOUR LOCAL BANK.
THIS OPTIONS AND MEANS WILL NOT RAISE ANY HIGH BROW BECAUSE YOU ARE TRANSFERING FROM YOUR OWN ACCOUNT TO ANOTHER ACCOUNT OF YOUR OWN IN AMERICA.
SINCE THE FUNDS IS PRESENTLY WITH OUR BANK , THE ONLY THING WE NEED TO DO IS TO OPEN THE NON RESIDENCE ACCOUNT WITH YOUR NAME AND FORWARD THE ACCOUNT NUMBER TO YOUR BANK HEADQUARTER AND THE DOCUMENTS OF THE ACCOUNT OPENING SO THAT THEY CAN FILE IT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE IN-CASE THE RESERVE BANK AUDITORS COME TO BANK FOR AUDITING.
I HAVE IMMEDIATELY INSTRUCT OUR GHANA BRANCH OFFICE TO KINDLY BEGIN THE PROCESSING OF THE ACCOUNT OPENING .
THE PURPOSE OF THE OPENING OF THE NON RESIDENCE ACCOUNT IS TO ENSURE A HITCH FREE TRANSFER OF THE FUNDS TO YOUR ACCOUNT AND ALSO TO PROTECT THE SECURITY OF YOUR FUNDS.
REQUESTED INFORMATION NEEDED FOR THE ACCOUNT OPENING.
1. FULL NAME
2. FULL CONTACT ADDRESS
3. DATE OF BIRTH
4. PLACE OF BIRTH
5. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
6. MARITAL STATUS
7. PRESENT OCCUPATION
8. PERSONAL PHONE NUMBER
THANKING YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND UNDERSTANDING
YOURS IN SERVICE
DR BRIAN MOYNIHAN
BANK OF AMERICA
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Anti-fraud resources:
