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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)
- "required fee " (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. )
- "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. )
- "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)
- "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)
- "economic and financial crime commission" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "(efcc)" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "my direct line" (a "direct line" in a scam usually means an untraceable mobile phone number used by a scammer in an internet cafe, a redirection service number that forwards to a mobile or a free voicemailbox in a different country.)
- "power of attorney" (with your bank details and a power of attorney form criminals sometimes empty bank accounts)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
- 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.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: Western Union <sandraben950@yahoo.pt>
Reply-To: Western Union <w.union29@yahoo.com.tw>
Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 07:47:21 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER BENIN
 WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER BENIN REPUBLICAvenue  Cotonou, BP 325 Cotonou Benin Republic.Telex : 5211 BA COTONOU BENIN REPUBLIC.  .Tel:+229-98 97-75-44 From the desk of ,Mr .Tony FrankPayment Department. Western Union. RE:  APPROVAL OF YOUR WIRE TRANSFER VALUED USD$1.500,000.00( ONE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS) ONLY.Attention Dear Customer  .
We received an email this morning from unknown person; call Mr. Helen Robertson who presented his details and a telephone number with a resident address, saying that you gave him the power of attorney to make your claims of your fund that you are not able to complete the transaction. Please try and get back to us immediately before we instruct him to pay for the required fee which is $58 and have the fund release to him, Your urgent email is highly needed in this office for us to know if you are the one that authorized him to claim your funds.
Bear in mind that he have agreed to pay the fee today but we want to confirm from you before we proceed on the release of the fund to his address because you are delaying and you are joking with the transaction since. But I don't want you to loose this fund I invested on this transaction and I will forward his name and the address to the economic and financial crime commission (EFCC) office as soon as I hear from you and we will go court to make the changing of the ownership.
So get back to me asap so that we can finished this transaction because I already forwarded the power of attorney to supo kenedy the custom in united states of America (usa).
Bellow is the information's he sent to us.Name: Mr. Helen Robertson.Address: kemuning ray stree no.8tomang.jakarta (USA)Delivery address no.51.jakartz (USA)
So your urgent response will be highly appreciated. Feel free to call me on my direct line +229-98977544 Â if you have any queries. If you did not gave him power of attorney to claim this fund just walk to western union office now and send this $58 or else this fund will be release to him. Send the $58 through Western Union money transfer with information below.
Reveiver Name----------------Ekene OraCountry:------------- Â Benin Republic.Address:--------------CotonouText Question:----------------- ColourAnswer:----------------- WhiteAmount--------------------$58.00MTCN-------------------------------?Senders Name--------------------------?Yours Sincerely ,Mr .Tony Frank.Payment Departmental OfficerWestern Union Transfer UnitCotonou Republic Du Benin.+229-98 97-75-44
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