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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. )
- "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. )
- "cotonou" (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.
- info.revjohnsonchukwuemeka@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: REV JOHNSON CHUKWUEMEKA <transferdepartmentbnkbj@wss-id.org>
Reply-To: info.revjohnsonchukwuemeka@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2011 13:07:25 +0100 (BST)
Subject: The money you sent has.......
Hello!
Attention!
BJ Lab Benin. Intercepted a bunch of payment information from Western Union and money gram. The money you sent has halted the transaction by the demand of the Federal Criminal Investigation Service case No. 3752 since the recipient has been undergoing the international retrieval by the Interpol.
Furthermore, you will pay for the Zip archive to receive back three hundred thousand USD that is an executable. The requested fee for the Zip archive is $32 you will send it via western union with the name ;
Senders Name----------
Receiver name------GODSON C. OTEH
Country------ Bénin Repiblic
City------ Cotonou
Test question------God is our
Test answer------Father
Amount------ $32.00 only
Mtcn-------
On our receipt of the payment information, we will them process the payment and attach the invoice and you will print out the invoice copies attached and collect the money at any western union office. You must make sure you have your ID card you will use for making the payment before the money will be hand to you.
If you do not pay the fee in five days you will have to pay 20$ per day.
Thank you!
Yours BJ Lab Benin.
reply only via this email info.revjohnsonchukwuemeka@gmail.com also with the MTCN questen /answer as soon as you send the fee .
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