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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:
- "huge amount of money" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Thabo Mashea" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <tmashea060@kimo.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2012 21:45:06 +0530
Subject: RE: MR. THABO MASHEA (PRASA)
Dear Sir,
Please kindly pardon my disposition as I know the unsafe nature of the internet but I am obliged to use this avenue to contact you due to the nature of this project.
However I am the Contracts Manager with Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and I have access to very vital information that can be used to claim a huge amount of money from the GAUTRAIN project account to a secured account.
I need a trustworthy seasoned businessperson to work with me as the foreign consultant in the actualization of this project which will be beneficial to both parties.
Full details /modalities will be disclosed on your expression of Interest to work with me.
Thanks for your anticipated corporation.
Regards,
Thabo Mashea
Contracts Manager
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa
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Anti-fraud resources:
