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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:
- "clearance fee" (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. )
- "stamp duty" (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)
- "million us dollars" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: mr Antono <fundsapprovalcertificateoffice@gmail.com>
Reply-To: unitednationsorganizationanton@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2023 22:50:54 -0800
Subject: YOUR ATTENTION IS NEEDED
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DEPARTMENT OF UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION 19th Floor,
885 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10022 Bentham IMF,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Greetings!!!!!!
From United Parcel Service Office New York USA. We don’t know how much
and how long you have been spending your money just to make sure you
received this funds but I’m very sorry that you have been dealing with
the wrong office. This morning we received your consignment box and
ATM Card Worth's total sum of $12 Million US Dollars from IMF office,
I’m contacting you to get everything done on
your behalf as soon as possible. We confirmed through your email
address that I’m contacting the Rightfully person. The only charges
you will pay is the sum of $50 USD for postal stamp duty fee with
Clearance fee agreement between them and us.
We want you to get back to us with the following details:
1. Full name .............
2. Country...............
3. Contact Address..........
4. Telephone Number ......
5. Marital Status .........
6. Occupation .............
7. Company ..............
8. Age...................
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Anti-fraud resources:
