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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:
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "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.
Fraud email example:
From: "MRS. NGOZI OGAEME" <arcangelifranco@alice.it>
Reply-To: Mark-Grescovich@hotmail.com
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2017 14:19:25 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: I SAW A PARCEL THAT HAS YOUR NAME ON IT THAT WAS ABANDONED HERE IN
FEDEX COURIER COMPANY
HELLO DEAR ,
I AM MRS NGOZI OGAEME THE STORE KEEPER AND RISK MANAGER FEDEX COURIER COMPANY AT FEDEX HEAD QUARTERS IKOYI LAGOS, NIGERIA. MY OFFICE IS SOLELY FOR VERIFICATION OF ABANDONED PARCELS AND OLD STOCKS IN THE FEDEX SECRET SECURITY STORE.
MY REASON OF CONTACTING YOU IS THAT I SAW A PARCEL THAT HAS YOUR NAME ON IT THAT WAS ABANDONED AND THE SENDERS NAME FINANCIAL AUDITORS WITH REG NO 007623/FED/19/2000/NG. IT WAS MARK WITH RED INK THAT SHOWS ABANDONED. AS IT IS NOW, I CAN HELP YOU TO GET IT IF ONLY YOU CAN ASSURE ME OF MY SAFETY AND PROTECTION.
YOU MUST ASSURE ME THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PAY FOR THE DELIVERY FEE WHICH WILL COST YOU ONLY $145 USD AND IF YOU RECEIVE IT YOU WILL COMPENSATE ME HANDSOMELY. IF THIS IS ACCEPTED BY YOU THEN WE WILL HAVE A DEAL AND PLEASE PROTECTION IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME JUST TO KEEP IT AS SECRET. LET IT BE ONLY ME AND YOU WHO WILL KNOW ABOUT THIS BUSINESS.
IF ACCEPTED BY YOU?? KINDLY SEND TO ME YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION'S LIKE YOUR DIRECT CELL PHONE NUMBER FOR FASTER COMMUNICATION, YOUR HOUSE ADDRESS, YOUR NEAREST AIRPORT NAME AND A COPY OF YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE/INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT OR ANY PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPH OF YOURS TO AVOID DELIVERY TO THE WRONG PERSON.
YOURS FAITHFULLYMRS NGOZI OGAEMESTORE KEEPER AND RISK MANAGER FEDEX COURIER COMPANY
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Anti-fraud resources:
