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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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. )
- 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 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.
- us_99@yahoo.it (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: james knight <james.knight30@yahoo.pt>
Reply-To: james knight <us_99@yahoo.it>
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 15:35:21 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Greeting from U.S Embassy,
 Greeting from U.S Embassy,
THIS MAIL IS ONLY FOR THE OWNER OF THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS
Please i want to informyou that your fund was brought to my desk this morning because that the directorÂ
of the western union here in Benin republic said that they will divert your fund toÂ
the government treasuries account just because that you refused to pay for theÂ
transfer fee of your fund which is $99 but i told them to wait until i hear from youÂ
today so that i will know the reason why you rejected such amount of money $8.5Â
millions which will change your life just because of $99.
I want your urgent response as soon as you receive this email and tell me theÂ
reason why you have abandon your fund or if you don't need it then i can changeÂ
your name to another person so that their government will not claim this money.
Please you should get back to me with this contact information and i will tell youÂ
where you should send the $99 if you are really intrested.
Your Full name .....................Your country andcity........................Your home address ...........................Your private phone number.........................Your age ........sex........ occupation
Contact me through this email address (us_99@yahoo.it)I will wait for yourÂ
urgent response
Mr.James KnightUnited States Ambassador to the Republic ofbenin
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Anti-fraud resources:
