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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:
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "service 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. )
- "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "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.
- 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.
- +229 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.john Edward" <sapiens@ufv.br>
Reply-To: atmvisacard636@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 29 May 2017 14:23:24 -0300 (BRT)
Subject: From United States Former Ambassador to the Republic of Benin
UNITED STATE FORMER AMBASSADOR TO BENIN REPUBLIC
This is Mr.John Edward. the Former United States Ambassador to
Republic of Benin, I came down here in Cotonou Benin Republic for an
ECOWAS meeting and I was searching for some files that I left in
this office before I left and found out that you have not received
your fund, and I asked the present ambassador Mrs.Lucy Tamlyn what
happened that you have not receive your fund since 2 years now, and
she said that you refused to pay the required fee for the delivery
of your ATM CARD.
I'm contacting you this morning because the director of the ATM CARD
center here in Benin Republic said that they will divert your ATM
CARD to the Government Treasury just because that you cannot pay for
the service fee of your ATM CARD which is $99.00 only according to
them.
But I told them to wait until I hear from you today so that I will
know the reason why you rejected such amount of money $10.5m which
will change your life just because of $99.00
I want your urgent response as soon as you receive this email and
explain to me the reason why you have abandon your ATM CARD because
of $99.00 But if you don't need it then I can change your name to
another person so that this Government will not claim this money but
I know that you will love to have it.
Please my dear I want to help you to receive this fund because it
was a big shock to me that you have not receive your ATM CARD and
withdraw your money since 2 years now and I'm very sorry for that
and you will receive your fund before the end of this meeting which
will take us 2 days and I will be here to monitor it until you
receive your fund.
This is where you should send the fee today and don't fail to do
that as I have said.
Receiver Name====John Obi
Country =========Benin Republic
City ============Cotonou
Amount ==========$99.00
Sender Name ======
Mtcn =============
I will wait to hear from you today with the mtcn number.
Finally, make sure that you reconfirm your full details.
1) FULL NAMES:
2) DELIVERY ADDRESS:
3) PHONE NUMBER
4) COUNTRY:
call me +229_62123359
Mr.John Edward
United States Former Ambassador to the Republic of Benin
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Anti-fraud resources:
