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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. )
- "moneygram" (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. )
- "the consignment" (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)
- "consignment " (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)
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "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.
- MoneyGram money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. Along with Western Union it is a 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.
Fraud email example:
From: US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA <information.infopa@gmail.com>
Reply-To: jamesentwistle428@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 13:16:07 +0100
Subject: TREAT AS URGENT
BUREAU OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS
US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA
11 GARKI ROAD ABUJA
ABUJA-NIGERIA
DEAR BENEFICIARY
`
I SHALL BE COMING TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING BY NEXT WEEK AND
I WILL BE BRINGING YOUR INTEREST PAYMENT OF US$1.2M ALONG WITH ME BUT THIS
TIME I WILL NOT GO THROUGH CUSTOMS BECAUSE AS A US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA, I
AM A US GOVERNMENT AGENT AND I HAVE THE VETO POWER TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMS.I
AM SCHEDULED TO HAVE A BRIEFING WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATES BY NEXT WEEK.
YOU SHOULD SEND YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER AND THE ADDRESS WHERE YOU WANT ME TO
BRING THE CONSIGNMENT PACKAGE . YOU HAVE REALLY PAID SO MUCH AS I WAS MADE
TO UNDERSTAND AND THAT IS WHY I HAVE PERSONALLY INTERVENED . YOU ARE A
VERY LUCKY PERSON BECAUSE I SHALL BE BRINGING IT MYSELF AND THERE IS
NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT. YOUR PACKAGE(US$1.2 Million} MUST BE
REGISTERED AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE FOR ME TO DEFEAT ALL ODDS AND THE
COST OF REGISTERING IT IS $85.00.
THE FEE MUST BE PAID IN THE NEXT 50 HOURS VIA WESTERN UNION/MONEYGRAM SO
THAT ALL NECESSARY ARRANGEMENT CAN BE MADE BEFORE TIME WILL BE AGAINST
US.YOU SHOULD SEND THE FEE DIRECTLY TO THE CARGO REGISTRATION OFFICER WITH
THE INFO BELOW
NAME : NZE AMA
COUNTRY: LAGOS NIGERIA
TEST QUESTION: HOW LONG
ANSWER: SOON
AS SOON AS THE FEE IS SENT FORWARD TO ME THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION BELLOW.
MTCN NUMBER:
SENDER ADDRESS:
MY TRIP WILL BE BY MID NEXT WEEK AND I EXPECT YOU TO COMPLY BEFORE THEN SO
THAT THE DELIVERY CAN BE COMPLETED. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, THEN IT WILL NOT
BE MY FAULT IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR CONSIGNMENT PACKAGE.
TREAT AS URGENT OR CALL ME OR SMS +234-807-270-5766
JAMES F. ENTWISTLE
US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA
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Anti-fraud resources:
