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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:
- 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. )
- "money gram" (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. )
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- 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 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.
- 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.
- moneygramtransfer1@hotmail.com (Hotmail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: James Knight <jamesknight011@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:41:15 -0800 (PST)
Subject: CALL OR EMAIL HIM NOW FOR THE PICK UP INFORMATIOM
ATTENTION BENEFICIARY:
WE THE MONEY GRAM REMITTING OFFICE WRITE TO INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVE SENT YOUR FULL COMPENSATION PAYMENT OF ($1.5MILLION USD) TO YOU THROUGH MONEY GRAM FUND TRANSFER, YOU WILL BE RECEIVING 10,000USD PER DAY, NOW WE HAVE SEND THE FIRST PAYMENT TO YOU.
SO CONTACT DIRECTOR WILLIAMS RAZACK AND ASK HIM TO GIVE YOU THE MONEY GRAM PAYMENT INFORMATION SO THAT YOU CAN BE ABLE TO PICK UP YOUR FUNDS THROUGH MONEY GRAM WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM.
HIS EMAIL ADDRESS IS moneygramtransfer1@hotmail.com or moneygramofice1@xnmsn.com
DIRECT PHONE NUMBER( +229-99387370)
AND CONTACT HIM WITH YOUR FULL INFORMATION:
YOUR FULL NAME............
YOUR COUNTRY..............
PHONE NUMBER..............
YOUR ADDRESS..............
YOUR AGE..................
SEX.......................
CALL OR EMAIL HIM NOW SO THAT HE CAN PROVIDE
THE MONEY GRAM INFORMATION TO YOU AS SOON AS YOU CAN.THE TRANSFER CHARGE IS ONLY $90 USD. NOW ASK THEM TO GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION TO SEND THEM THE $90 USD TODAY FOR URGENT TRANSFER OF YOUR FUND .
THANKS AND REMAIN BLESSED
MR JAMES KNIGHT
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Anti-fraud resources:
