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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:
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- "anthony.watson@w.cn" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Lloyds TSB Bank" <thonywats@w.cn>
Reply-To: <anthony.watson@w.cn>
Date: Sun, 5 Sep 2010 18:28:18 +0100
Subject: Contact me as soon as possible.
Dear Beneficiary,
I am Anthony Watson, Manager of Claims Department with Lloyds Bank here in London, United Kingdom. I wish to notify you that you are clear to claim the total sum of Twelve Million Five Hundred thousand British pounds in the codicil and last testament of Mrs. Vanessa Fassnacht.
All the legal papers that will be used to process the release of the funds to you will be handled by me, in your acceptance to co-operate with me on this deal.
Kindly send your reply with your letter of acceptance to anthony.watson@w.cn and confirm your
(1)Name in full
(2) Current telephone and fax numbers
(3) Forwarding address
This is to enable me file in necessary documents at the court probate division for the release of this funds to you.
Yours faithfully,
Mr. Anthony Watson.
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Anti-fraud resources:
