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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)
- "carlososil@live.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. mary Conti" <mrs.maryconti@yahoo.com.ph>
Reply-To: carlososil@live.com
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:06:47 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: YOUR URGENT CONTACT TO MR. CARLOS OBI !!
Dear Friend,
I am very happy to inform you about my success in getting that fund transferred to a Swiss account. I did not forget your past effort to assist me despite the fact that it failed us somehow so I kept some amount for you in my own appreciation for your compensation. Now I want you to contact my secretary on the information below:
Contact person: Mr. Carlos Obi
E-mail: carlososil@live.com
Phone: +229 98290607
Contact him and ask him to send you the total sum of (US$1.6Million) dollars in a certified international bank draft issued from UBS AG, Switzerland, which I have kept for your compensation.
Best regards,
Mrs. Mary Conti
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Anti-fraud resources:
