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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:
- "come down to england" (these scammers pretend to be based in the UK, but they are really in Africa)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Maria Cid <mariacid_insuranceservices@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: mariacid_insurranceservices@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 07:23:35 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Respond ASAP
Hello,
Sorry to disturb you but I really need your help....I had to come down to England for business and unfortunately for me I got robbed in the cab I boarded and all my cash,credit cards and cell phones were all stolen ,and this is why i had to contact you by email..
As it stands now I am stranded in the hotel were I already owe 700$...Please can you loan me 2000$ to pay up my bills I promise to pay you back as soon as I return...
I will be waiting for a positive answer.
Thanks
Maria Cid Agency Contact Manager Farmers Insurance 408-848-893
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Anti-fraud resources:
