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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:
- "websz@live.com" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Stephen Webster" <websters81@gmail.com>
Reply-To: websz@live.com
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2011 17:41:37 +0200 (CAT)
Subject: CAN YOU INVEST THIS FUND IN YOUR COUNTRY?
I am Stephen Webster. I have been working at Bank of Scotland, London. I
intend to move money to a foreign bank account for an investment. The
total sum of money is SEVEN MILLION UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN DOLLARS.
Could you handle this fund well for an investment if I have moved it to
your country?
IF YOU CAN HELP TO RECEIVE AND INVEST THIS FUND, SEND YOUR REPLY TO MY
PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR MORE DETAILS AND ALSO SEND ME YOUR PHONE NUMBER
TO CALL YOU. MY EMAIL IS websz@live.com
Regards,
Mr. Stepehn.
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Anti-fraud resources:
