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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "certificate 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. )
- "activation 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. )
- "stamp duty" (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. )
- 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.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- ubauntedbanko@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.Igwu Godwin," <bankofnigeria426@gmail.com>
Reply-To: ubauntedbanko@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2021 07:01:35 -0700
Subject: Your ATM CARD is ready to delivery
Good Day,
I have deposited the check to the ATM OFFICE. All you have to do is to
contact them at: (ubauntedbanko@gmail.com) they will give you
direction on how you will be receiving your atm card daily.My
agreement with them is 10.000USD daily until the whole of $7.9USD is
withdraw end.
You are not expected to pay for the delivery fee or stamp duty fee or
any certificate fee because all the fee is already deducted but your
can only pay for the dealivering charges from the funds once the
remittance is done. The only fee you will send to them before the
delivery is activation fee which is i did not know the amount.when you
contact the atm office, try to ask them how much is activation fee.
1. Name:____________________
2. Address:__________________
3. Country:___________________
4. Phone Number:_____________
5. Occupation:________________
6. Sex:_________________
7. Age:___________________
Email them with your full address, the contact person is Dr patrick
igwe,this is there phone number;+229 97602795
Thank you.Mr. Igwu Godwin,
Your ATM CARD is ready to delivery
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Anti-fraud resources:
