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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "mrgarrywilliams@globomail.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a "New Partner from Paraguay" scam.
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs Linda Obi" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrgarrywilliams@globomail.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:23:46 +0700
Subject: CONTACT MY SECRETARY FOR YOUR BANK DRAFT
Dear Friend,
I'm happy to inform you about my success in getting those funds transfered under the co-operation of a new partner from paraguay.Now contact my secretary,his name is Mr Garri Williams contact him via his email( mrgarrywilliams@globomail.com )you can also reach him with this phone number +229 988 24 009 Ask him to send you the total sum of $850.000 Usd which I kept for your compensation for all the past efforts and attempts to assist me in the past.I am now in paraguay with my own share of the fund for investment project so feel free to contact my secretary because i left instruction for him that you will be contacting him soon.
I appreciated your collective efforts so feel free and get in touch with my secretary Mr Garri Williams and instruct him where to send your Draft without any delay.Take note that the Bank Draft is having only 21 good banking days before it will expire so contact him as soon as you recieve this email.
Best Regards,
Mrs Linda Obi
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Anti-fraud resources:
