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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "foreign exchange" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- "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.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- kingsley.moghula@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Dr. Kingsley.Moghula" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <kingsley.moghula@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2016 22:28:13 +0100
Subject: Re: Still Expecting Your Response.
My Dear,
I am Dr. Kingsley Mohagula, The Deputy Governor and Director of Cash Services with The Central Bank of Nigeria. I am communicating confidentially in regards to your long standing Payment unclaimed with the Apex Bank.
However, charges imposed on you and stiff conditions attached in order to effect a huge wire transmission successfully into your designated Bank account has posed some difficulties for you to successfully conclude this payment claim.
As The Director of Cash Services with the Apex Bank I can assist you use my office to apply for a Cash Payment and have your contract sum withdrawn and have the money concealed and conveyed as Parcel out the country to you via our Cargo Delivering system as your personal effects.
As compensation to me facilitating this transaction you have to offer me 30% of the total fund. If you are in agreement with this, do get back to me to reconfirm your address and direct cell phone contact information. You are also to write an authorization letter to Federal Ministry of Finance requesting to have your payment voucher reclassify and grant an approval for a Foreign Exchange Control and let me take over from there. Please for security reasons forward your response to my private email: kingsley.moghula@gmail.com
I wait for your immediate response.
Best Regards,
Dr.Kingsley Mohagula.
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