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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:
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "lagos" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: " Olamide Johnson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <rosejohnsonn49x@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2019 23:45:22 +0100
Subject: OK.......
IN REGARD TO YOUR MASTER CREDIT CARD PACKAGE WITH US U.P.S
WE RECEIVED AN EMAIL ALERT FROM OUR UPS OFFICE IN YOUR COUNTRY REGARDING
YOUR PACKAGE WHICH HAVE BEEN WITH THEM FOR TWO WEEKS NOW AND THE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING
AGENT IN CHARGE PLANNED TO RETURN YOUR PACKAGE TO THE FEDERAL MINISTRY
OF FINANCE OF NIGERIA. THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOUR MASTER CARD CONTAIN IS
$1.5 USD MILLION USD AND THIS INCLUDE INTEREST RATE UP TILL DATE.
THE MASTER CARD WAS PROGRAMMED TO HAVE ACCESS GLOBALLY WHICH YOU CAN MAKE
WITHDRAW OR TRANSACTION IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD.
IT SEEMS YOU DON'T WANT TO SHOW ANY SERIOUSNESS TOWARD THE SHIPMENT OF
YOUR PACKAGE THAT IS WHY THEY WANT TO RETURN IT AND THEY NEED PERMISSION
FROM ME FIRST BEFORE THEY WILL RETURN THE PACKAGE.
I ORDERED THEM TO STOP AND I ALSO ASSURE THEM THAT I WILL MAKE SURE THE CHARGE
FEE REQUIRED TO ENABLE THE SHIPMENT WHICH IS $125 WILL BE PAID AND THIS WILL BE THE LAST FEE REQUIRED.
IN REGARD TO YOUR MASTERCARD PACKAGE WHICH WORTH $1.5 USD MILLION
USD I WILL HELP YOU AND MAKE SURE YOU RECEIVE IT AND MY INVESTIGATION
SHOWS YOU HAVE SPENT A LOT RECENTLY IN REGARD TO THIS PACKAGE AND THIS
WILL BE THE LAST FEE.
REMEMBER YOU HAVE SPENT A LOT TOWARD THIS PACKAGE ONCE THE CHARGE FEE
REQUIRED NOW IS PAID SHIPMENT WILL COMMENCE AND YOU WILL RECOVER ALL
YOU HAVE SPENT RECENTLY. THE CHARGE FEE REQUIRED NOW IS NOT MUCH SO
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE LAST FEE NEEDED WHICH IS $125 ONLY MY
ADVICE TO YOU IS TO GO AHEAD AND SEND THE CHARGE FEE VIA WESTER UNION MONEY TRANSFER. THE
WESTERN UNION INFORMATION BELOW BELONGS TO AUSTIN OGBOGU.
OUR PAYMENT RECEIVING OFFICER:
RECEIVER NAME: AUSTIN OGBOGU.
LOCATION: LAGOS NIGERIA
AMOUNT:$125
MTCN#
SURE SHIPMENT COMMENCE ONCE THE CHARGE FEE IS PAID. SENDER
NAME????MTCN NUMBER???FULL SENDER ADDRESS USED:???TEXT
QUESTION???ANSWER???? AWAIT YOUR REPLY AND REMEMBER SHIPMENT WILL
COMMENCE TODAY AND IT WILL TAKE ONLY 26 HOURS TO GET THE PACKAGE
SHIPPED TO YOU.
BEST REGARDS,
MR.ROSE OLAMIDE JOHNSON
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Anti-fraud resources:
