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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:
- "million dollars" (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)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Dr Ignatius Imala (Central Bank of Nigeria)" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <drimala1947@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:49:19 -0800
Subject: YOUR INHERITANCE PAYMENT via CBN-VISA DEBIT CARD
FROM: DR. IGNATIUS IMALA,
DIRECTOR,
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
DIRECT PHONE: +234-8024617446
Attn:
YOUR PAYMENT VIA CBN-VISA DEBIT CARD
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT YOUR INHERITANCE/CONTRACT PAYMENT OF $10.5 MILLION DOLLARS
HAS BEEN APPROVED TO BE MADE TO YOU THROUGH CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA ATM VISA DEBIT CARD.
REPLY WITH FULL NAMES ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER FOR IMMEDIATE PROCESSING OF
THE ATM CARD
YOU CAN AS WELL CALL ME FOR MORE DETAILS +234-8024617446
Regards,
God bless you.
DR. IGNATIUS IMALA
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Anti-fraud resources:
