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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:
- "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- john.crewsjohn@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "John Crews" <jhncrew@hasab.org>
Reply-To: john.crewsjohn@aol.com
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2013 05:04:12 +0600 (BDT)
Subject: Dear Friend
Dear:
My name is John Crews; I would like to discuss with you a very lucrative
business of Mine which I would like us to handle together, I got your
email on the Internet while I Was searching for a reliable person abroad
who is trustworthy, honest and God fearing to Handle this business with
me. I will give you more details about the business if I here Back from
you. Via this email:john.crewsjohn@aol.com
Thanks for your cooperation and may God bless you and your family as I
hope to here back From you soon.
Sincerely
Mr. John Crews.
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Anti-fraud resources:
