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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")
- 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!
Fraud email example:
From: "THE CHEVROLET BINGO PROMOTIONS" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <diamondclaims@live.com>
Date: Sun, 3 Oct 2010 06:14:57 +0530
Subject: CBP WINNER - Contact Your Claims Agent Now
THE CHEVROLET BINGO PROMOTIONS
Chevrolet UK Ltd.UK1-101-135,
Osborne RoadLuton, Bedfordshire LU1 3YT
CONGRATULATIONS LUCKY WINNER!!!
You have been awarded the sum of GBP : 950, 000. 00 and a brand new 2010 Chevrolet CAPTIVA SUV Car
in our 2010 Chevrolet BINGO Promotions which was held on the 30th of April 2010 by selecting
through email ballot from about 10million email addresses all over the world.No entries were made and no tickets were sold.
Contact your claims agent with the below information:
Diamond Hammer Consultancy
Dr. Corleone De Angelo
Claims Agent
Tel: 00- 44-871-2459-592
Tel: 00- 44-871-2459-593
E-mail:diamondclaims@live.com
Reply to your claims agent via his email and endeavor to call him also with the above mentioned
numbers as you make sure you provide these details to him immediately.
1. Full Names:
2. Country:
3. Complete Address:
4. Zip code :
5. Cell phone Number:
6. Age and Marital Status :
7. Occupation and YEARS OF Experience :
With these information your claims agent shall process your funds and yourcash prize shall be delivered within 5 days to you in your country.
Yours Faithfully
Mrs. Brenda Campbell
Director General
Chevrolet Bingo Promotions
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Anti-fraud resources:
