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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. )
- "wum.transfer@om-team.fr" (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.
- 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: "Mr. Williams Anderson" <msdaniellasmith@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: "Mr. Williams Anderson" <wum.transfer@om-team.fr>
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2014 16:43:01 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Attn: Dear Client
MESSAGE FROM AFRICAN UNION
Plot 991/992 Zachariah Malabar Street
Cad astral zone A.O central business district.
Attn: Dear Client
We receive a confirmation of your payment valued the Sum of 3.9M Euro remitted from Bank of America Escrow Account to Federal Reserve Bank Benin for onward Fund Transfer to your designated Bank Account. My acquaintance with you as your superintendent officer was based on strict directives from the paying Bank where your fund was en routed through the Bank of America. Recent findings by our in-house security department revealed gross misdemeanors of office by previous administrative officials who intentionally delayed the expected process of Â
foreign Diplomatic shipment for selfish and dubious interest resulting to this time lapse, which we sincerely tender our profound apologies with view to addressing a timely justification of office being our propagator scheme with view to revamping the system and process timely release of funds using the open flexible available payments options that would be communicated to you in follow ups.
To forestall the security and unnecessary delay. We have concluded the arrangement of releasing your total sum of 3.9M Euro via Western Union after the meeting held on 21st Sept between United Nation U.N and Africa Union (A.U). We tried as much as possible to uphold the already laid down Principle of law regarding the necessary legitimate procedures in the payment of your total reimbursement but it required your complete
data before the processing of the payment such as.
Your full Name----------------Â-
Your house address-------------Â--
Your outgoing number--------------
Your Occupation----------Â----
Your Age/Sex-------------------------
A copy of your passport/ID card-----------------
Please note: The needed transfer charge has been paid by A.U but the only fee that you will pay in order for western union to obtain one of your documents that their system could not keep record of is 129 Euro only, and instruction on how to make the payment will be given to you by Mr. John David. the document will be issued and signed originally in your name to enable you get your total payments without any interception from any office. Contact Person: Mr. John David, Email: (wum.transfer@om-team.fr), Tel: (229-98-79-74-50)
Thanks
Mr. Williams Anderson
A.U Agent
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