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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:
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "ALH. BELLO" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <alhbello@yahoo.cn>
Date: Sat, 4 May 2013 07:34:51 -0400
Subject: best Regards
Good day,
I am Accountant General, Federal republic of Nigeria, with our investigation we have found out that you have not gotten your fund transferred into your account probably because of big demand of fees or wrong contact of office.
Because of this two mentioned hitch that caused you not to receive your fund being big demand of fees and wrong contact that is why the Presidency and the Senate committee have introduced this payment update and a way to wave fees in other to enable you receive your fund.
This newly update is that, instead of paying fees and contacting the wrong office or bank for transfer i will introduce you to what we called fee deduction clearance certificate and as soon as you acquire the fee deduction clearance certificate, i will personally take your payment file to the bank for transfer.
This fee deduction clearance certificate will enable all the fee you will pay for the transfer of the fund to be deducted from your total fund you are expecting from Nigeria or all fees will be waived.
I will kindly let you know the cost of the deduction clearance certificate once you provide this information below:
Your Full Name:............................
Your Address:..............................
Your Phone Number:.........................
Your Age:..................................
Your Sex:..................................
Your Occupation:...........................
It is very important you read this email and get back to me on the email:
Mrs. Bello Mohammed
Accountant General
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