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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. )
- "economic and financial crimes commission" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "(efcc)" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "efcc-nig2016@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "EFCC" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <efcc-nig2016@outlook.com>
Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2016 09:34:04 +0530
Subject: EFCC: Internet Compensation Program
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
5 Fomella Street, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent
Wuse II, Abuja, Nigeria
Website: www.efccnigeria.org
Confirmation Message:
This message is to let you know that we have carried out verifications at
Western Union and MoneyGram head offices right here in Nigeria to know if
truly you have sent money to Nigeria and Western Union and MoneyGram
confirmed it to us that you have sent money on several occasions to
Nigeria.
In regard to the confirmation by the money transfer companies, it proves
that you have truly sent money to fraudsters in Nigeria as claimed and you
are entitled to a compensation in the on-going compensation program
sponsored by the United Nations (UN), IMF and Nigerian Government.
Someone might have been deceiving you that you have Thousands or Millions
of dollars to claim. Please be warned that there are no Thousands and
Millions of dollars anywhere they are just deceiving you in order to rip
you off. Also take note that this is the first compensation program in
Nigeria, we have never held any compensation programs in the past don't be
deceived and stop every email communications immediately.
Contact EFCC Nigeria via email for your compensation.
Email Address: efcc-nig2016@outlook.com
This message is from The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
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Anti-fraud resources:
