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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:
- ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: FEC <kimsimach944@gmail.com>
Reply-To: William.Brookson@outlook.com
Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2023 01:52:36 +0100
Subject: This is the best payment gateway that will be 99.99% cost-free in
paying your unclaimed funds
--
Dear Beneficiary,
The rate of internet scam and fraud has risen to an all-time high
since after the Covid-19 global pandemic and a lot of international
beneficiaries have lost out on their unclaimed fund payments either
due to their inability to pay the basic processing and clearance
charges or because they assume that every fund payment process that
requires upfront fee is scam and fraudulent. While this is not
generally true, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) knows that more
international beneficiaries will miss the chance to claim their funds
if a method that is convenient and more favorable to them is not
utilized for their payment. This was the reason they (FEC) quickly
turned to and reached out to few financial institutions with global
presence and eventually achieved a payment gateway that is 99.99%
cost-free in paying your $2,000,000.00 unclaimed funds.
Please reconfirm your details by filling the form below and attach a
coloured copy of your ID:
Full Name: ...................................................
Contact Address: .........................................
State & Country of Residence: ..................................
Town & Zip/Postal Code: ...........................................
Telephone Number: ..................................................
Mobile Number: .......................................................
Occupation: .............................................................
Position: ..................................................................
**** Attach a colored copy of your ID.
Your unclaimed fund payment will be almost completed after you provide
your information requested above.
Sincerely,
Mr. William Brookson
FEC Payment Committee
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Anti-fraud resources:
