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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:
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "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!)
- "dept@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.
- 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.
- +447035967829 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: Norton Finance Loan <info@loan.org>
Reply-To: northern.loan.hh@live.com
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:56:40 +0800
Subject:
Welcome to Norton Finance Agency, we wish to inform the general public that
this company is presently offering 3% loan offer with 100% insurance security.
Our loan amount is withn the range of $5,000.00 to $100,000,000.00 from 1 Year
to 50 Years loan term.
Interester applicant are to contact our leander with the name and phone number
below for application, applicant are also adviced to fill the form
below or ask
more questions as regard this loan offer.
***************************
Mr. Hillary Hamfort
Tel: +447035967829
E-mails: dept@w.cn
***************************
1) Full Name:
2) Sex:
3) Tel:
4) Marital Status:
5) Country/State:
6) Occupation:
7) Loan Amount:
8) Monthly Income:
9) Loan Duration:
10) Home address:
11) Mobile Phone Number:
12) Home Phone Number:
Regards
Buddy E Butler
Norton Finance Loan
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Anti-fraud resources:
