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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:
- "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. )
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "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)
- This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
- They don't notify winners by email.
- You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
- They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
- They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
- They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
- They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
- They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
- 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 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.
- westernunion.melissamubarak@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "WESTERN UNION ASIA GRANT 2017" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <wu.asiaofficemy2017@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2017 09:28:48 +0800
Subject: $500,000.00 USD
Message From - WESTERN UNION ASIA
[HEAD OFFICE] - KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
" WESTERN UNION GRANT 2017 "
YOUR EMAIL WAS SELECTED AND HAVE BEEN AWARDED THE SUM OF $500,000.00 USD.
YOU WILL BE ISSUED A WESTERN UNION NETSPEND MASTERCARD CREDITED WITH $500,000.00 USD
NOTE: The Delivery Of Your WESTERN UNION NETSPEND MASTERCARD To Your HOME is FREE !
Your Reference No: WU/WUA2017/BBKMY
For More Information, Please Contact -
Western Union Agent: MELISSA BINTI MUBARAK
Contact E-mail: westernunion.melissamubarak@gmail.com
Office Telephone: +60165781566
KINDLY CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT WITH YOUR REFERENCE NUMBER FOR EASY IDENTIFICATION .
CONGRATULATION ONCE AGAIN FROM WESTERN UNION © [ ASIA ].
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