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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:
- "abuja" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Maria E. Brewer" <nzniber@ccimaroc.com>
Reply-To: nelime02223@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 21:03:20 +0100
Subject: Await Your Reply....
Attn:
The sum of USD4.5 Million out of your overdue total sum has been approved for payment through ATM cash card system which you will use to withdraw and make Transaction in any ATM SERVICE MACHINE in any part of the world,but the maximum you can withdraw in a day is USD15,000.00 Only. The approved sum has been programmed into the ATM cash card which will be dispatched to you through your address upon reconfirmation.
The origin of this payment was from your unpaid Email Selection Online Lottery winning released and approved by the Finance Ministry of Nigeria and U.S. Embassy.
Hence we are seeking for your confirmation as soon as possible. To this end, you should Kindly Re-confirm these information’s below to me.
(1) Your Full Names:-
(2) Address:-
(3) Your Phone Numbers:-
(4) Age:
NOTE: The actual fees for shipping your ATM card is just USD285 nothing more and no hidden fees of any sort!
Upon receipt of payment the delivery officer will ensure that your parcel will be sent within 24 working hours. Because we are so sure of everything we are giving you a 100% money back guarantee if you do not receive your ATM card within the next 24hrs after you have made the payment for shipping.
Yours Sincerely.
Maria E. Brewer
Deputy Chief of Mission
U.S. Embassy, Abuja, Nigeria
About Me: http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/dcm.html
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Anti-fraud resources:
