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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:
- "loan amount" (Beware of fake loan offers. Real lenders would not normally use free webmail addresses such as Yahoo, nor would they lend to individuals or small businesses in a different country from where they are based. Beware of mobile phones or redirector numbers!)
- "your loan " (Beware of fake loan offers. Real lenders would not normally use free webmail addresses such as Yahoo, nor would they lend to individuals or small businesses in a different country from where they are based. Beware of mobile phones or redirector numbers!)
- "brain_williams@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.
- 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.
- +447024089312 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: "Guardian Finance Company" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <brain_williams@live.com>
Date: Wed, 9 May 2012 01:14:55 +0100
Subject: Loan Offer
Loan Application we offer loan to serious people that really need a loan. A loan to start up a business a loan to pay for debts a loan to open up a company of your own at 2%(serious inquiries only).if interested should contact us at: brain_williams@live.com with the following information
Full Name:..
Country:...
Address:..
Loan Amount:...
Loan Duration:....
Mobile Number:....
Occupation:....
Loan Purpose:...
Monthly Income...
I will commence with the processing of your loan as
soon as I receive this information from you. There is more happiness to
gain in getting a loan from us, so do contact us immediately and we will
respond to you within 20-30minutes time.
Regards,
Mr Brain Williams
Tel: +447024089312
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Anti-fraud resources:
