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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:
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
- 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 WENDY JONES" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrsbarbara1@qatar.io>
Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:31:02 -0000
Subject: TREAT AS URGENT
I AM MRS WENDY JONES ,I AM A BUSINESS OWNER,THE LORD INSTRUCTED ME TO
WILL MY OIL COMPANY AND MY REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TO YOU I WOULD LIKE YOU
TO CONTACT MY ATTORNEY HIS NAME IS BARRISTER RODNEY LEE.
EMAIL: rodneylee@qatar.io
CELL PHONE: +234 803 351 5078
HE WILL GUIDE YOU ON WHATEVER YOU NEED TO DO TO INHERIT THE COMPANY.I AM
GOING FOR AN OPERATION AND I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN MAKE IT DUE TO MY MEDICAL
EXPERT I AM
SORRY I KNOW THIS HURT, BECAUSE I AM FROM OESOPHAGEAL CANACERSO CONTACT MY
ATTORNEY AND HE WILL GUIDE YOU ON
WHATEVER TO
BEST REGARDS,
MRS WENDY JONES
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Anti-fraud resources:
