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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:
- "moneygram" (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. )
- "lagos" (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.
- 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.
- moneygramoffice@aol.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Esther Richard." <emem@aster.pl>
Reply-To: <moneygramoffice@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 2009 10:06:05 +0100
Subject: I Have Sent You The Money....ams
Good day,
I was instructed by my boss to send you the MoneyGram informations for you to be able to collect part of the money that was supposed to be transferred to your account.
Senders Names: Esther Richard.
Senders Country: Block C4 Federal Ministry Of Finance Road Lagos State Nigeria.
Reference Numbers: #65587802
Amount Sent: $1520 USD.
Text Question: color
Text Answer: green
Senders Names: Esther Richard.
Senders Country: Block C4 Federal Ministry Of Finance Road Lagos State Nigeria.
Reference Numbers: #73456707
Amount Sent: $2540 USD.
Text Question: color
Text Answer: green
Senders Names: Esther Richard.
Senders Country: Block C4 Federal Ministry Of Finance Road Lagos State Nigeria.
Reference Numbers: #86509011
Amount Sent: $3930 USD.
Text Question: color
Text Answer: green
I am out of town and I will not be back until 13th of Feb 2010 Just go to the MoneyGram Office and collect the money and incase you have any problem kindly contact the MoneyGram agent at the e-mail below for help. moneygramoffice@aol.com or you can call these numbers for help: +243-7032233870
Note I will not be able to respond to your email, if you have any problem contact the MoneyGram agent via the information above.
Thanks,
Esther Richard.
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