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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:
- "money gram" (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. )
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- MoneyGram money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. Along with Western Union it is a preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
Fraud email example:
From: Rev Frank Joseph <"www."@sweet.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: Rev Frank Joseph <www.revfrankjoseph@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2017 06:53:37 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Rev Frank Joseph
I am Rev Frank Joseph the chairman compensation affairs Benin Republic,my friend i write on behalf of the federal government and the newly elected president of Benin_Republic
(Mr Patrice Talon) to plead with you all that have been involved in this scam going on in west Africa especially in our own country Benin_Republic,where ungodly human beings use
the name of the federal government agencies to scam money out of innocent people in the name of fund,so the newly elected president of this country and the government at large
are here to apologize to you all by donating a sum of $820.000.00usd (eight hundred and twenty thousand usd) to each and every one of you.and this fund is to be transferred to
you via money gram money transfer,And is also up to you to make your choice of how you want to receive your fund
The only thing required from you is your full personal details like
YOUR FULL NAME............
COUNTRY..........
CITY........
HOME/OFFICE ADDRESS.......
AGE............
CELL........
SEX.........
OCCUPATION..........
And note that the transfer of your fund has been programmed that you will be receiving a minimum of $10,000.00usd daily until the whole fund is totally transferred to you.if you
choose the money gram transfer,
Remain blessed
Rev Frank Joseph
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