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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- 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. )
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "are expected to pay " (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. )
- "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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)
- "diplomatic immunity" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist 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: "Mr. Paul Rosen" <officexoffice2@gmail.com>
Reply-To: officexoffice17@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2023 13:44:10 -0700
Subject: Greetings and Compliment
--
DEPARTMENT OF INT'L AFFAIRS
(Office of the Under Secretary)
1520 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington D.C. 20120.
Greetings and Compliment
I hope this was the second notice and it will be the last notice. I am Mr.
Paul Rosen, Under Secretary for International Affairs of the United States
Treasury Department and was sworn in as the 76th Secretary of the United
States Department of the Treasury in a ceremony attended by President Joe
Biden and Vice President
Kamala Harris.
Following series of complaints from Citizens of the United States as well
as Citizens of Other Countries In Europe over the Discrepancies and
fraudulent ways in which fund transfers are handled by Africans which has
made it impossible for a lot of People to claim their Winning or
Inheritance funds from most African Countries due to frauds and illegal
activities, A decision was reached recently by the United States Treasury
Department under the authority of the White House to compel African
Financial bodies (Banks) to urgently release all funds of American and
European citizens that are trapped in most Banks and Courier Companies in
Africa. It was discovered that some bureaucratic bottlenecks were put by
these Banks and Couriers to make it impossible for beneficiaries to claim
their funds so that they will fraudulently divert those funds to their
private accounts.
Consequent upon the aforementioned, I was personally mandated to handle
this matter to ensure that all funds of our Citizens and others which are
fraudulently being trapped in African Banks are urgently retrieved and paid
to the actual Beneficiaries under a legal manner. Our team of experts were
delegated to Other Countries In Europe for this task and we discovered your
File NO: BR114/80MH80L/00 as unclaimed fund. It was discovered that
officials of the Bank have only put up illegal requirements in order to
make it difficult for you to claim your fund.
We have (5) Five options over this payment and I would advise you to select
one of them how you want this payment to be received by you.
1) Telegraphic Wire Transfer To Your Account.
2) Diplomatic Immunity Seal.
3) Payment Via ATM Master Card.
4) Money Transfer
5) Western Union
Select any of these options and get back to us so that we further your
payment without any atom of delay. For your information. The United States
Department of Treasury has retrieved all Files of illegal transactions and
we have worked under a legitimate arrangement to ensure that you follow the
normal process to receive your funds $36.500,000.00 USD.
The only money that you will pay to receive your funds is $50 for an
Ownership- clearance certificate. The clearance charges which were
initially on the high price $575 have been cut down by the US Embassy
considering the poor economic situations that make it difficult for the
middle class citizens to meet up with the clearance of their entitlement.
Note that you are expected to pay only $50 usd for Ownership-clearance
certificate and you are to pay it to Federal Ministry of Finance as the
origination of the funds and you're to send the $50 usd through Steam card
or GOOGLE play card or Nordstrom card of $50 usd only.
I have taken this assignment upon myself because I understand that you have
really paid so much on the cost which I want to stop that now, because
nothing was received by you. You are requested to Re-confirm the following
information
1. SURNAME.............
2. OTHER NAMES......................
3. PHONE NUMBER AND
4. ADDRESS...................
5. AMOUNT TO BE CLAIMED: $36.500,000.00 USD
Be informed that the above information will only enable us to make due
confirmation. We shall ensure that a normal process is followed to ensure
that your fund gets to you without delay.
Warm Regards
Mr. Paul Rosen
(Under Secretary).
Chat Conversation End
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