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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. )
- "money gram" (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. )
- "abuja" (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 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.
- ambassadorwstuarsymington@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "AMBASSADOR W STUART SYMINGTON" <info@fedr.org>
Reply-To: ambassadorwstuarsymington@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2019 16:59:00 -0700
Subject: COMPLY IMMEDIATELY OR LOOSE ALL
U.S AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA
PLOT 1075 DIPLOMATIC DRIVE
CENTRAL DISTRICT AREA, ABUJA
ATTN: BENEFICIARY.
AN OFFICIAL MEETING WAS HELD WITH THE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA AND MINISTER OF
FINANCE CONCERNING THE UNPAID AND UNCLAIMED FUNDS TO FOREIGN
BENEFICIARIES,I WAS VERY MUCH CONCERNED WHEN I DISCOVERED THAT YOU HAVE
PAID MUCH MONEY AND YET HAVE NOT RECEIVE YOUR FUNDS.THIS IS WHY I DECIDED
TO HELP.
I WILL BE COMING TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR AN OFFICIAL VISIT AND I WILL COME
ALONG WITH YOUR PARCEL CONTAINING AN ATM CARD SUM OF $5 MILLION ALONG WITH
ME THROUGH UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC MISSION TO THE COUNTRY. BUT I WILL NOT
GO THROUGH CUSTOMS BECAUSE AS U.S AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA, AM U.S GOVERNMENT
AGENT AND HAVE THE VETO POWER TO PASS THROUGH CUSTOMS. JUST LIKE I HELPED
TWO PERSONS THAT RECEIVED THEIR FUNDS THIS YEAR 2019.
SEND YOUR INFORMATION AS REQUESTED BELOW:-
1. YOUR FULL NAME
2. CELL PHONE NUMBER
3. ADDRESS WHERE YOU WANT ME TO BRING THE PACKAGE).
YOU ARE A VERY LUCKY AS I SHALL BE BRINGING IT MYSELF AND NOTHING CAN STOP
ME.
YOUR PARCEL OF ($5M) MUST BE REGISTERED AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE FOR
ME TO DEFEAT ALL ODDS AND THE COST OF REGISTERING IT IS $125.THE FEE MUST
BE PAID IN THE NEXT 50 HOURS VIA WESTERN UNION SO THAT ALL NECESSARY
ARRANGEMENT CAN BE MADE BEFORE TIME WILL BE AGAINST US.
SEND THE FEE VIA WESTERN UNION MONEY OR MONEY GRAM TRANSFER:
RECEIVER'S NAME:...FRANCIS CHINWUBA
ADDRESS:...ABUJA, NIGERIA.
TEXT QUESTION:....SINCERITY?
ANSWER:....MATTERS
AMOUNT: ....$105.
SENDER NAME AND ADDRESS........
AS SOON AS YOU SEND THE FEE MAKE SURE YOU SEND SCAN COPY OF THE
PAYMENT RECEIPT FOR CONFIRMATION.
I SHALL SEND MY FLIGHT SCHEDULE TO YOU.
ACCESS MY WEBSITE AND READ BIOGRAPHY:
http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/biography.html
EMAIL:{ambassadorwstuarsymington@gmail.com }
TRULY,
AMBASSADOR W STUART SYMINGTON.
U.S AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA.
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Anti-fraud resources:
