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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. )
- "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. )
- "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)
- "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 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.
- usembassy20013@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "AMBASSADOR MR.JAMES ENTWISTLE" <tlcs1416@gmail.com>
Reply-To: usembassy20013@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2015 08:52:31 +0100
Subject: AMBASSADOR MR.JAMES ENTWISTLE
I WILL BE COMING TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING MISSIONARY
HELD ON FRIDAY TOMORROW AND I WILL BE COMING WITH YOUR FUNDS OF $9.5M
ALONG WITH ME BUT THIS TIME ALL THE CUSTOMS PAPER HAVE ALREADY SETTLED
BECAUSE AS AN AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA, I AM A US GOVERNMENT CITIZEN AND
I HAVE THE RIGHT TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMS.
AS SOON AS I AM THROUGH THE DELIVERY OF YOUR FUND PACKAGE I WILL MOVE
ON WITH THE MEETING TOMORROW FRIDAY I SHALL THEN PROCEED TO YOUR
ADDRESS. (SEND YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER AND THE ADDRESS WHERE YOU WANT
ME TO COME WITH THE PACKAGE CONSIGNMENT )
YOUR PACKAGE($9.5 Million) MUST BE STAMP AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE
AND ALSO SECURE AN { SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE APPROVAL LETTER } FOR
ME TO DEFEAT ALL AUTHORITIES AND THE COST OF STAMPING IT IS $78.00 THE
FEE SHOULD BE PAID IMMEDIATELY TO EFFECT THE DELIVERY WITHIN THE NEXT
24 HOURS PAYMENT SHOULD BE MADE VIA WESTERN UNION SO THAT ALL
NECESSARY ARRANGEMENT CAN BE MADE BEFORE TIME WILL BE AGAINST US.
SEND THE FEE $78.00 VIA WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER INFORMATION STATED BELOW:
RECEIVER'S NAME: JOE UDE
SENDER'S NAME.==============
ADDRESS: LAGOS NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION: COLOR
ANSWER: BLUE
AMOUNT:$78.00
MTCN.
AS SOON AS YOU SEND THE FEE MAKE SURE YOU SEND ME THE PAYMENT
INFORMATION.THE MTCN NUMBER AND THE TEXT QUESTION AND ANSWER MY FLIGHT
IS FRIDAY SCHEDULED 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 PACKAGE.
REGARDS
AMBASSADOR MR.JAMES ENTWISTLE
EMAILS : {usembassy20013@gmail.com}
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Anti-fraud resources:
