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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million us 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)
- 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.
- +447035925930 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: "H.B" <howardcbowman@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:35:37 -0400
Subject: RE: THIS MUST WORK OUT
Dear Sir
Please Note That This Is Not A Scam.I Am Mr HOWARD BOWMAN Of The
British Road Safety Corporation London UK.
In A Nutshell,There Was A Ghastly Motor Accident On The 4th Of July
Last Year And I Headed The Team Of Rescuers From My Department.A
Local Courier Truck And A Waste Disposal Van Had A Head on Collission
And No Survivors.All The Cargoes In The Truck Were deposited To The
County Security CompanybBy Me And My Men On This Very Day.
The Issue Here Is This: Most Of All The Cargos Have Been Claimed By
Their Respective Owners But Just For This 118kg Refined GOLD In
Bricks Which No One Has Come For.
All I Need You To Do Is To Stand as The Owner Of This GOLD BRICKS,I
Have All The Informations Regarding What The Security Company
Will deem As Prerequisite Questions And Answers Before You Can Be
Cleared As The Rightful Owner.
These GOLD Is Worth Over $8 Million US Dollars And I Can Go For Just
40% Of The Proceeds In The End.Trust Me And We Will Be Fine.
Reply Via my email or
+44-703-5925930
Yours Truly
HOWARD BOWMAN
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Anti-fraud resources:
