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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:
- "atm card department" (this phrase is often used in the ATM card payment scam)
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "mtcn" (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. )
- "hundred thousand united states 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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- 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.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- fexp2014@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. James David" <offfiel3@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <fexp2014@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2014 09:52:26 +0100
Subject: Christmas PROMO / BONANZA
Mr. James David
FedEx International Nigeria
Address:6 Avenue Road Festac
Email: fexp2014@gmail.com
Tel:+234 706-120-7957
Attention: Esteemed Customer.
This
is to officially announce to you that the CEO of this Bank Of Africa
(BOA) has declare his Christmas PROMO / BONANZA to all our customers
who has not received his / her ATM CARD that the
PROMO FEE for the delivery of your ATM Card is now $128 only.
NOTE:
The initial fee of $499 has been reduced to $128 only. Therefore, if you
fall in this category, I advise that you should claim your ATM Card
which was uploaded with the sum of $2,700,000.00 (Two Million Seven
Hundred Thousand United States Dollars Only) now while the PROMO last
for 10days. After 10days, the fee will go back to its original costs.
You should hurry up and be among the first 10
customers to benefit in this PROMO and you will also be entitled to other goodies.
USE THIS INFORMATION BELOW TO WIRE THE $128 VIA WESTERN UNION OR MONEY GRAM:
RECEIVER'S NAME: ---- JAMES OBA
CITY: ------------------- LAGOS
COUNTRY: ------------ NIGERIA.
TEST QUESTION: --- YES
ANSWER: -------------- YES
AMOUNT TO SEND: --$128 ONLY
MTCN:
Kindly reconfirm theses information below after you make the payment.
i. SENDER'S NAME: .....
ii. SENDER'S CURRENT ADDRESS:.....
iii. SENDER'S DIRECT TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
Thanks for your understanding and have a Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year in advance.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. James David
For: ATM Card Department
FedEx International Nigeria
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Anti-fraud resources:
