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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:
- "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. )
- "registration 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. )
- "high court" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "federal high court" (This court is often mentioned in '419' scams to give the victim a reason why he/she should send thousands of dollars to the scammers. A 'Federal High Court' exists in Germany and Nigeria, but not in other countries, such as the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Senegal, Benin, South Africa or other countries where fake lawyers in scams often claim to be based. )
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
- 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.
- mg.transferdv1@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: UNITED NATION <nelsonwjamison@gmail.com>
Reply-To: info.un56843@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2023 17:48:01 -0800
Subject: Payment Notification
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Attention Beneficiary,
I am writing this email to bring to your notice that finally your
funds has been deposited with OCEANIC BANK and it was converted into
cash with the agreement thatyou will be receiving $5,000.00 daily via
MONEY GRAM TRANSFER until the complete sum 2.5million USD is transfer
complete, since this will be the safe and best way to handle this
transaction for security reasons. I took this decision because of the
so many restrictions from the security Agents while trying to send the
cash to you through courier service. So all you have to do now is to
contact them on this below information and they will carry out the
transfer accordingly.
Note: I have paid for the registration fee which cost me $300, And all
the back up certificates has been obtained except for the insurance
paper which will cost you a little money in advance due to the
instructions from the (FHC) Federal High Court.
CONTACT PERSON
Name: Dr. David Glover
Email: (mg.transferdv1@gmail.com)
Phone: +229 97674044
And do not forget to contact them with your personal information such as,
Full name:........
Current address:...
Telephone number:...
Contact them and let me know when you started receiving your payment.
Best Regards,
Mr. Ray Mathins
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Anti-fraud resources:
