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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. )
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "JAMES ENTWISTLE" <test@egh.gov.ps>
Reply-To: james_entwistle@myself.com
Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2017 09:40:59 +0200 (EET)
Subject: FORMER UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA
ATT:
THIS IS MR JAMES ENTWISTLE THE FORMER UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO REPUBLIC
OF NIGERIA, I CAME DOWN HERE IN REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA 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 MR STUART SYMINGTON WHAT HAPPENED THAT YOU HAVE NOT
RECEIVE YOUR FUND AND HE 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 REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA 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 $150 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 $8.5M WHICH WILL CHANGE
YOUR LIFE JUST BECAUSE OF $150
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 $150. 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 3 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 6 DAYS AND I
WILL BE HERE TO MONITOR IT UNTIL YOU RECEIVE YOUR FUND.
Use the below payment information to make the payment and forward the
payment details, VIA Western Union Money Transfer or Money Gram
Senders Name : -------------------
Senders Address : ----------------------
Receivers Name :Peter Ado
Receivers Address :Lagos Nigeria
Amount Sending : $150
Text Question : What?
Text Answer : Good
Reference Number : --------------------
I WILL WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON WITH THE MTCN NUMBER, PLEASE RECONFIRM
YOUR INFORMATION SUCH IS.
YOUR FULL NAME========
YOUR HOME ADDRESS=====
YOUR COUNTRY==========
YOUR PHONE NUMBER=====
Yours Affectionately.
MR JAMES ENTWISTLE
FORMER UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA.
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