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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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million 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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <nifolotki@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2014 05:55:59 -0700
Subject: Urgent.
>From The Desk Of Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Minister of Finance for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
I have tried several means to contact you without success.
I wish to use this medium to inform you that your CONTRACT/LOTTERY Payment of USD$15,000,000.00 (fifteen Million United States Dollars) from CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA have been RELEASED and APPROVED for onward transfer to you via an ATM CARD which you will use to withdraw all the USD$15,000,000.00 in any ATM SERVICE MACHINE in any part of the world,but the maximum you can withdraw in a day is USD$15,000.00 Only.
Await your reply so i can forward your ATM CARD and all it back up document to Fedex Shipping Service to enable delivery to you.
Best Regards.
Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Minister of Finance
Know More About Me: http://www.fmf.gov.ng/the-ministry/management-team/honourable-minister.html
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Anti-fraud resources: