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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:
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: Mrs Precious Andrew <info@fedexng.com>
Reply-To: nigfedex001@ovi.com
Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2011 01:59:16 +1100
Subject: Your Bank-draft of $750.000
I have been waiting for you to contact me for your Conformable Bank-draft of $750.000.00 United States Dollars,but I did not hear from you. Then I went and deposited the Draft with FedEx COURIER SERVICE,Here in West Africa,Please contact FEDEX COURIER for effective delivery.
Contact Person: Fred Frank
Phone number: +2348095807007
Email Address: nigfedex001@ovi.com
Finally, make sure that you reconfirm your full details to them.
1) FULL NAMES:
2) CONTACT ADDRESS:
3) PHONE NUMBER/FAX:
4) COUNTRY:
Regards
Mrs Precious Andrew
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Anti-fraud resources:
