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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- 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.
- +447045781974 (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.
- robert3kard@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
- cordinatorlarry@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: MRS SONIA LARRY <info@microsoft.co.uk>
Reply-To: robert3kard@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:00:03 +0200
Subject: YOU WON 2008 LOTTERY
MICROSOFT AWARD PROMOTION DEPARTMENT Head Winning Claims Dept.
Ticket Number: 008795727498 Lucky Number: 14-21-25-39-40-47(20) Ref:
BTD/968/07,Batch: 409978E, You are Number (5) Dear Recipient, We are
happy to inform you that you have just emerged a winner in our 2008
Microsoft AWARD PROMO. Consequently you have won
(£500,000.00GBP) Five Hundred Thousand Great Britain Pounds and
a Brand New Toyota Camry 2007/2008 Model Car.You are required to fill
the claims eligible form below and forward it to your fiduciary agent
on his email below or via fax to claim your Funds and Car. Fiduciary
Agent: Mr. Robert Kard E-mail:robert3kard@gmail.com Tel: +44 70457
81974 Fax: +44 70928 75166 CLAIMS REQUIREMENTS: 1. Full Names: 2.
Residential Address: 3. Phone Number: 4. Fax Number: 5. Occupation:
6. Sex: 7. Age: 8. Nationality: 9. Present Country: 10.E-mail
Address: 11.Mode Of Payment: Bank Transfer ( )Mark X for preffered
Method. Cheque Delivery ( )Mark X for preffered
Method.
Congratulations from the staff and Management of the 2008 Microsoft
MID YEAR AWARD PROMO. Regards. MRS SONIA LARRY
CORDINATORLARRY@YAHOO.CO.UK COORDINATOR GENERAL 2008 MICROSOFT PROMO.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Copyright (C)2008 Microsoft(R) Lottery Promotions. All rights reserved
Anti-fraud resources:
