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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:
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "hundred thousand united states 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)
- "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)
- 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.
- +447011163547 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: "KNOX LOTTO INC" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <agent@knoxlotto.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 2010 14:56:21 -0000
Subject: Very Important 500,000USD
Date: 4/02/2010
Ref 575061725
Batch: 8056490902/188
Winning no: KB8701/LPRC
We are delighted to inform you of your winning on the 30th of January, 2010 from the KNOX LOTTO UK International Award Programme which is partially based on an electronic selection of winners using their e-mail addresses. Your e-mail address was attached to ticket number; 575061725 8056490902 serial number 6741137002 .This batch draws the lucky numbers as follows: 4-13-33-37-42 bonus number 17,which consequently won the total sum of $500,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) in the second category.
You have been awarded the total sum of Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars ($500,000.00) which will be transferred to you after all due process and your information received.
HOW TO FILE YOUR CLAIM: Simply contact our Fiduciary Claims Agent with the below contact information's:
CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT WITH THE BELOW DETAILS:
Contact Person: Mr. Harry Pepple
Tel: +447011163547
Official Email: agent@knoxlotto.co.uk
CLAIMS REQUIREMENT
1. FULL NAMES: ........................................
2. NATIONALITY: ......................................
3. DATE OF BIRTH: ....................................
4. SEX:................................................
5. MARITAL STATUS: ................................
6. CONTACT ADDRESS: ............................
7. TELEPHONE NUMBER: .........................
8. OCCUPATION: .......................................
Congratulation on your winning of the total sum of Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars from the KNOX LOTTO UK Award Department.
Best Regards.
Dr. (Ms). Alex Curran.
(For the co-ordinator)
Note: Do not reply to this ID, simply contact ( agent@knoxlotto.co.uk )
Copyright C2 1968-2010 KNOX LOTTO UK Award Inc All Rights Reserved.
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