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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:
- "into your nominated bank account" (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)
- "cashier's check" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <markmartins2012@yahoo.cn>
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2013 11:59:22 +0100
Subject: WARNING FROM THE FBI
This e-mail has been issued to you in order to Officially inform you that we have completed an investigation on an International Payment in which was issued to you by Government and coordinated by your attorney. With the help of our newly developed technology (International Monitoring Network System) we discovered that you were not able to complete your transfer because of the amount involved. During our investigation we discovered that your fund ($11 million) is still available and we have authorized the fund to be paid to you via a Certified Cashier's Check, ATM or Via Wire Transfer.
Normally, it will take up to 10 business days for an International Check to be cashed by your local bank and 24 hours for a Wire Transfer into your nominated bank account.
We have completed this investigation and you are hereby approved to receive the fund as we have verified the entire transaction to be Safe and 100% risk free, due to the fact that you have delayed in completing this transfer. We are therefore warning you to respond to this email within the next 48 hours or be faced with an investigation into the fund and subsequent arrest. The funds have been deposited in a bank you will be required to contact. According to our discoveries, you were required to pay for the following -
(1) Deposit Fee's
(2) Cashier's Check Conversion Fee (Fee for converting the Wire Transfer payment into a Certified Cashier's Check)
(3) Shipping Fee's (This is the charge for shipping the Cashier's Check to your home address)
You are not expected to pay for it anymore.However The transaction document with your name is attached and you are expected to open it and reconfirm your information confirming you are the rightful person, also include the following transaction code in order for us to immediately identify this transaction: EA2948-910.
This letter will serve as proof that the Federal Bureau of Investigation have contacted you with the attached document and fellow to read the document attached or respond to this email will attract the full wrath of this office and subsequent arrest.
Do open the attached document immediately
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