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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.
- 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.
- +447024055571 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Joseph Leon" <mr.josephleon@yahoo.co.uk>
Reply-To: "Mr. Joseph Leon" <mr.josephleon@live.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:49:49 +0100 (BST)
Subject: inquiry
Hello,
I am Mr. Joseph Leon
from England and I wish to make reservations in your
accommodation/hospitality. I hereby check for availability in your
accommodation from the 31th December 2012 to 10th day of January 2013
(Check-in 31th December 2012 and check out 12 noon 10th day of January
2013) which is 10 nights. I inquire for 6 double rooms in regards to 12
adult delegates.
Please get back to me with the confirmation of availability and prices. I await your reply soon.
Have a nice day.
Mr. Joseph Leon
Address: 48 High Street HA5 5PW London
United Kingdom
Tel: 44 702 4055571
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Anti-fraud resources:
