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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. )
- "moneygram" (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. )
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "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.
- 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.
- 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: "Mr.Smith Luck" <alexmark0007@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: SmithLuck28@outlook.com
Date: Fri, 09 Mar 2018 16:33:35 +0100
Subject: the Former United States Ambassador to Republic of Benin
This is Mr smith luck the Fomer United States Ambassador 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 Mr James Knight
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.amount of money 2.5
Milion
United State Dollars
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 150.00usd 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 2.5m which will change your life just
because of 150.00usd
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 150.00. 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 a
year
now and I'm very sorry for that and you will receive your fund before the end of
this meeting which will take us 4 days and I will be here to monitor it until
you
receive your fund.
This is where you should send the fee today through any moneygram or western
union
office around you and don't fail to do that as I have said.
Receiver Name====
Country =======Benin Republic
City ============= Cotonou
Text Question ===== today
Answer ============ Yes
Amount ======== 150usd
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:
Mr smith luck
the Former United States Ambassador to Republic of Benin
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Anti-fraud resources:
