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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:
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "consignment " (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "info.seanwilliams@yahoo.cn" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- 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: "CLAIMS DEPT" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <info.seanwilliams@yahoo.cn>
Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2012 00:32:22 -0000
Subject: YOU WON $7.5MILLIONS USD
Good Day,
I am using this opportunity to inform you that the online automatic
random email selection lottery, that you won some time ago which you
were unable to claim due to loss of contact or communication by the
finance house that was supposed to inform you on your winnings has been
rectified.The sum of $7.5 million USD (SEVEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED
THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS) will be delivered to you as compensation
for the total sum of your initial winnings which you were unable to
claim.Below is the contact details of the fiduciary agent which you are
to contact in ensuring the swift delivery of your consignment
Name of agent:MR.SEAN WILLIAMS
Email address: info.seanwilliams@yahoo.cn
Be informed that this is genuine and authentic so you will not be asked to
make any payment for courier charges for the delivery of your funds as
that is what fraudsters on the internet normally do, also note that you do
not need to register or enter into the lottery before you emerged a
winner, as this is an automatic random email selection lottery, i have
already paid for the transportation of your consignment.You are to contact
the agent immediately in order for your funds of $7.5 million USD(SEVEN
MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS)to be delivered to you
without further delays.
Sincerely,
Mrs Mauren Walken
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Anti-fraud resources:
