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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:
- "processing fee" (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. )
- 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 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.
- johnpaco.madrid@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "WINNER 815,960 EUROS" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mr.pacojohnmadrid@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:48:38 +0200
Subject: SUMMER SWEEP STAKE LOTTERY
SUMMER SWEEP STAKE LOTTERY
EL-GORDO LOTTERY PROMOTION
AVA. C/ Montera 34, 4º - 10, 28013 Madrid. España
DEAR: WINNER
RE-AWARD NOTIFICATION BASED ON TICKET NO-42-23-0-113-69-1/2 SERIAL NO: 7773-95
We are pleased to inform you the release result of the EL-GORDO LOTTERY SUMMER SWEEP STAKE SPANISH INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM held on 19May of May 2010. Your name attached to the ticket number 42-23-0-113-69-1/2 with serial number 7773-95 drew the lucky number 736-22575993-86 which consequently won the lottery in the 1ST category (815,960 EUROS (EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN THOUSAND, NINE HUNDRED AND SIXTY EUROS). You are therefore been approved to claim the total prize payment. 815,960 Euros
CONGRATULATION! - fill the details and send.
Name:----------------------------------------------------
Address:------------------------------------------------
Telephone:--------------------------------------------
Occupation:------------------------------------------
Age :----------------------------------------------------
Bank Name:------------------------------------------
Bank Address:--------------------------------------
Complete Bank Details:-------------------------
To begin your Prize Claim please fill the information and send to my email for payment processing direct email: johnpaco.madrid@gmail.com
Remember that 5% is their agent processing fee and should be paid to them only after you received your prize claim
Thanks
JOHN PACO
EL-GORDO LOTTERY PROMOTION S.A
SUMMER LOTTERY
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Anti-fraud resources:
