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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. )
- "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. )
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: Sandra Santiago <sands_santiago@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: sands_santiiago@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2012 06:51:43 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: NEED YOUR HELP!!!
hello,
How are things going for you? ..This had to come in a hurry and it has
left me devastated I traveled to UK, for a Seminar, unfortunately for me
all my money was stolen at the hotel where I lodged. The Embassy only
cleared me of my travel documents and ticket since I came in on official
purpose. I only need to clear the hotel bills before I can leave but of
course they stopped billing me since the incident. I didn't bring my
phones here and the hotel telephone lines were disconnected during the
robbery, so I have access to only emails. Please i want you to send me
£1,000 pounds through western union as early as possible so I can return
home. As soon as I get back I would refund it immediately.Please
all I want you to do is for you to locate any post office or bank near
you and send me the money through Western Union it seems to be the
safest and quickest option for now.This are the details for the western
union transfer:
Name: Sandra Santiago
Address: Brixham Gardens
City: Ilford,Essex
ZIP Code: IG7 2BA
Country: United Kingdom
Please as soon as you send the money scan and send me a copy of the
western union transfer receipt or you just send me the mtcn number and
the senders full information used when sending the money. I would be
waiting.
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