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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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "the required fees" (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. )
- "mtcn" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Dr. Goodluck E. Jonathan (GCFR)" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <adviserebi@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2010 02:24:38 +0100
Subject: Payment decision from the desk of Mr. President
Payment decision from the desk of Mr. President
This is to inform you that the Presidency has stepped into the payment of your contract / inheritance fund which have lied here over several years now, due to your inability to offset the legal requirement for 2010 payment, as a payment policy decided by the ad-hock committee on contract/inheritance payment. It's obvious that new policy have been made concerning long awaiting payments that any person who have not received his or her overdue payment in this my administration should endeavor to secure the Presidential Payment Slip.
However, there is no way you can receive your payment without Presidential Payment Slip (PPS) which swathes all the authorities that may demand for any further document. Therefore, you are required to respond immediately for the procurement of the said PPS.
Alternatively, you may contact the office of the Permanent secretary to the Minister of Finance for the PPS documents; you can also send them the required fees for the document as stated by Mr. President on the following information:
Chima Onyema
Address: Lagos
Nigeria
Question: PPS
Answer: Services
Amount: $180
Then the MTCN number…………….
Send them the payment/personal information on this email (presidency@upimail.be)
Upon receipt of the said PPS we shall issue a payment instruction directly to your designated Bank without any further charges.
Dr. Goodluck E. Jonathan (GCFR)
President Federal Republic of Nigeria
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