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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:
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "ria@socialworker.net" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "INFO BANK" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ria@socialworker.net>
Date: Thu, 3 May 2018 13:53:14 +0100
Subject: RIA Department West Africa
RIA Department West Africa
Manager Mr.Jim Daniel
Phone Number +229-62411639
Dear Customer,
The RIA Department world wide has got to know that you abandoned your fund since in our bank which is your compensation payment total sum of $950,000.00 usd which we will splite in the amount of $3000.00 usd per day.
This is to inform you that we will start to send your payment tomorrow but you have to try your best and make sure you send the sum of $98.00 usd for Authorization Clearance Certificate which we have to obtain from International Monitary Fund Office.
Waiting for your next email, so that we can provide details you can use to send the $98.00 usd for the Authorization Clearance Certificate.
If you have questions, you can email us on [ ria@socialworker.net or please contact us with +229-62411639
Sincerely,
Mr.Jim Daniel
Manager of RIA Department Western African
Phone Number +229-62411639
The Ria Money Transfer Team.
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