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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 gram" (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: JOHN WEST <mgram772@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: JOHN WEST <mgram@outlook.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 17:55:16 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: ATTN: FUND OWNER,
ATTN: FUND OWNER,
WE THE MONEY GRAM URGENT REMITTING OFFICE HAVE SENT YOUR FULL COMPENSATION PAYMENT OF $3.7MUSD TO YOU THROUGH MONEY GRAM, YOU WILL BE RECEIVING 2,500.USD PER DAY. NOW WE HAVE SEND THE FIRST PAYMENT TO YOU. SO CONTACT OUR DIRECTOR MRS.DENNIS BLESSING. AND ASK HIM TO GIVE YOU THE MONEY GRAM PAYMENT INFORMATION SO THAT YOU CAN BE ABLE TO PICK UP YOUR FUNDS THROUGH MONEY GRAM WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM. PLEASE WHEN CONTACTING US MAKE SURE THAT YOU PUT THIS EMAIL (+22998360664) IN THE PLACE OF TO, THAT WILL ENABLE US RECEIVE YOUR EMAIL IMMEDIATE OK. HERE IS THE CONTACT INFORMATION OF MONEY GRAM DIRECTOR GENERAL :
MRS.DENNIS BLESSING.
EMAIL ADDRESS : (mgram@outlook.com)
YOU ARE EXPECTED TO CALL URGENT THIS PHONE NUMBER :+ .
THEN YOU CONTACT HIM WITH YOUR FULL CURRENT HOME INFORMATION.
RECEIVER NAME:===COUNTRY:===========CITY:==============TEST QUESTION:=====ANSWER:============TELEPHONE NUMBER:=YOUR OCCUPATION:===YOUR AGE\ PASS PORT ID===
CALL URGENT OR EMAIL HIM NOW SO THAT HE CAN PROVIDE THE MONEY GRAM PAYMENTINFORMATION TO YOU AS SOON URGENT AS YOU CAN.
THANKS AND GOD BLESS "U" REGARDS
MR.JOHN WEST.
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Anti-fraud resources:
