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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.
- The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "money laundering" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
- "affidavit of claim" (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. )
- "tax clearance" (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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
- They don't notify winners by email.
- You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
- They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
- They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
- They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
- They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
- They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +447045729381 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
- 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.
- excel.courier@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: Customer Care <infoclaim.dept@yahoo.es>
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:39:51 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: {Disarmed} Contact the delivery agent
The National Lottery
PO Box 1010
Liverpool L70 1NL United Kingdom
Ref: UK/6648D/09
Batch: 080/07/MK881
I am glad to inform you that the Lottery Verifications and Claim Department has cleared you as a bonafide winner of the NATIONAL LOTTERY PRIZE. The next step would be for your winning Documents which consist of the original copies of your Winning Certificate, Letter of Affidavit of Claims, Tax Clearance Certificate and Money Laundering Protection Document, to be forwarded to you along with your Certified Cheque.
Below is the Name of the Delivery Agency :
Delivery Agency: Excel Couriers
Contact Person: Cardigan Crowther
Email Address: excel.courier@gmail.com
Telephone Number: + 44 7045729381
DR.Cardigan Crowther, is the Delivery/Dispatch Officer, responsible for sending you the original copies of your Winning Documents as soon as your meet their requirements for effective delivery of your UK NATIONAL LOTTERY PRIZE.
Have it in mind that your won prize cannot be deducted from , this is because the total amount has been insured to the real value. This is in accordance with section 13(1)(n) of the National Gambling Act as adopted in 1993 and amended on 3RD July 1996 by the Gambling Policy Council.
This is to protect Winners and to avoid misappropriation of funds. Its is imperative that you add your BATCH NUMBERS as the subject of any correspondence with the courier company to ensure they respond in a timely manner. If you have any questions don't forget to get back to us.
And I do hope you will consider me for a little bonus after you have received your winnings.
Yours Respectfully,
Mr. Kelvin Clark
Officer,Lottery Claim Dept.
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