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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "loan amount" (Beware of fake loan offers. Real lenders would not normally use free webmail addresses such as Yahoo, nor would they lend to individuals or small businesses in a different country from where they are based. Beware of mobile phones or redirector numbers!)
- "sterlingloaninvestment01@yahoo.com.hk" (This email address looks like addresses used in fake loan scams. Be suspicious of any lender who uses a free webmail address or who is based in different country from yourself.)
- 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.
- sterlingloaninvestment01@yahoo.com.hk (Yahoo, Hong Kong; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: STERLING LOAN INVESTMENT <info@loan.com>
Reply-To: sterling.loan@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 08:51:24 +0100
Subject:
Dear Sir/Madam.,
I am Mrs Carol Roberts (CEO) Sterling Loan Investment,
I am a private loan lender .We give out loans to business
people and individuals for just 3% interest rate.
We give out local and international loans to any body all
over the world.We give out loans via account transfer to what ever
country you are.We are not a bank and we do not require much
documents.
If you are interested in getting a loan from our company,
contact us with the following details.
==================================
FIRST NAME:...............
LAST NAME:...............
ADDRESS:..................
COUNTRY:..................
PHONE NUMBER: ...........
FAX NUMBER: .............
OCCUPATION:.............
MONTHLY INCOME...........
AGE:.....................
LOAN AMOUNT NEEDED:.......
LOAN DURATION............
OFFICE USE ONLY
Verified by:________________
Confirmed by: ________________
LOAN AGENT 'S SIGNATURE:__ ______________
All replies should be forwarded to:
Email :sterlingloaninvestment01@yahoo.com.hk
Regards,
Mrs Carol Roberts.
Chief Executive Officer.
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