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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:
- "your humble assistance" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "URGENT PROPOSAL" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <bossmail@terra.es>
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 21:37:20 +0100
Subject: URGENT PROPOSAL
I on behalf of my colleagues being senior staffs with a bank here in Spain need your humble assistance in repatriating some funds left behind by a late customer that died, before it is declared unserviceable within the next 30 days.
We decided to contact you due to the urgency of this transaction .Every attempt to trace any member of his family has proved unsuccessful and abortive. Actually this transaction is real and one hundred percent risk free and does not relate to any breach of law or proceeds from drugs.
I will give you more information upon your response to this proposal, to my personal Email address. Email: bossmail@terra.es.
Best Regards,
Mr. D Pratt
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Anti-fraud resources:
