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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:
- "activation 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. )
- "western union" (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. )
- "i am using this medium to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "cotonou" (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.
- Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "DR JOHN LARRY." <officefile034@gmail.com>
Reply-To: www.westernunionoffice90@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:03:15 -0400
Subject: YOUR PAYMENT HAVE BEEN RELEASE TODAY
INFORMATION REACHING US FROM OUR CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS NOW, STATES THAT YOU
ONLY HAVE 48HOURS TO EFFECT PAYMENT FOR THE ACTIVATION OF YOUR MTCN TO ENABLE
YOU CASH UP YOUR FIRST $6,000.00. FROM YOUR TOTAL (FUND OF NINE HUNDRED AND
FIFTY THOUSAND STATE DOLLARS) SINCE YOU ARE FINDING IT DIFFICULT TO MAKE THIS
PAYMENT WE HAVE DECIDED THAT YOU ARE TO GO AHEAD AND PAY WHATEVER YOU HAVE FOR
THE ACTIVATION FEE SINCE YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO COME UP WITH THE REQUIRED
SUM,TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE HERE.
YOU ARE TO PAY WHAT EVER YOU HAVE FOR THE ACTIVATION FEE; WE WILL ACTIVATE
YOUR MTCN UPON RECEIPT OF THIS PAYMENT.
BE INFORMED THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY THE BALANCE SUM OF YOUR ACTIVATION UPON
CASHING UP OF YOUR FIRST $6,000.00. ALSO I AM USING THIS MEDIUM TO INFORM YOU
THAT FAILURE TO PAY THE BALANCE SUM WILL LEAVE US WITH NO OPTION BUT TO
DEACTIVATE YOUR MTCN OF WHICH YOU WILL AND CAN NEVER CASH UP THE BALANCE SUM I
WANT YOU TO SEND THE
RENEWING AND TRANSFER FEE WITH THE INFORMATION BELLOW.
1.RECEIVER NAME:__ NGOSINE JHON OBAGHA
2.COUNTRY:_________ BENIN REPUBLIC WEST AFRICA.
3.CITY :.____________ COTONOU .
4..TEST QUESTION:_______ HONEST
5.TEST ANSWER:_________ TRUST.
PLEASE ANY AMOUNT YOU SEND LET US KNOWU SEND US THE MTCN NUMBER IMMEDIATELY
YOU SEND THE MONEY AND IMMEDIATELY WE CONFIRM THE TRANSFER FEE WE WILL SEND
YOU THE FIRST RECIEPT OF YOUR $6,000.00. TODAY AND NOT TOMORROW. REGARDS MY
DIRECT PHONE LINE IS : +229 99085224 : DR JOHN LARRY. MANAGER.FROM WESTERN
UNION OFFICE BENIN REPUBLIC FOR YOUR PAYMENT
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