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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:
- "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. )
- 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.
- 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.
- deptpaymentservice@yahoo.de (Yahoo, Germany; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "HON MR RON JOHN." <jelf.westernuniondepartment.da@gmail.com>
Reply-To: deptpaymentservice@yahoo.de
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:19:29 +0600 (BDT)
Subject: ATTENTION BENEFICIARY
ATTENTION BENEFICIARY
NOTE THAT WE HAVE DECIDED TO PAY YOUR FUNDS THROUGH WESTERN UNION URGENT
REMITTING OFFICE SINCE YOU WAS UNABLE TO RECEIVED YOUR MONEY THROUGH
COMPANY'S DELIVERY AND BANK DUE TO THEIR MANAGEMENT BUT NOW WE HAVE SENT
YOUR FULL COMPENSATION PAYMENT OF$2,5 USD TO YOU THROUGH WESTERN UNION.
YOU WILL BE RECEIVING $5000.00USD PER DAY, BUT I WANT YOU TO CONTACT THE
MANAGEMENT IN WESTERN UNION RIGHT NOW AND ASK HIM FOR YOUR FIRST
PAYMENT.HIS NAME IS (MR JOSHUA LUCKY) AND ASK HIM TO GIVE YOU THE WESTERN
UNION PAYMENT INFORMATION SO THAT YOU CAN BE ABLE TO PICK UP YOUR FUNDS
THROUGH WESTERN UNION WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM.
DIRECTOR MR JOSHUA LUCKY
OFFICE EMAIL ADDRESS IS (deptpaymentservice@yahoo.de)
PHONE NUMBER +229-98 299 491
AND CONTACT HIM WITH YOUR FULL INFORMATION OK.
YOUR NAME..............
COUNTRY................
PHONE NO.................
ADDRESS/CITY............
AGE/SEX..............
YOU ID COPY.............
CALL OR EMAIL HIM NOW SO THAT HE CAN PROVIDE THE WESTERN UNION INFORMATION
TO YOU AS URGENT AS YOU CAN.
ALSO DO LET ME KNOW IMMEDIATELY THEY HAVE STARTED SENDING YOUR MONEY, BUT
TRY TO COMPLY WITH THEM TO ENABLE THEM SERVE YOU BETTER.
HON MR RON JOHN.
THANKS AND GOD BLESS
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This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.
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Anti-fraud resources:
