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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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Okoroh B" <MRSBLESS052@accamail.com>
Reply-To: <mrsbookoroh@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2013 07:26:14 -0700
Subject: RE:: INQUIRY------------
wrote:
Hello:
I wish to relate a very important message to you concerning a business.
I am in need of a trustee that can take care of urgent contract
investments
on behalf of my client. If you may be interested, ensure you relate back
your interest to me
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________
NOTE: The contents of this message are the views of the author and do
not necessarily reflect the views of CENTREPOINT ALLIANCE LTD or any
related entity. The information contained in this e-mail is confidential
and intended solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended
recipient you must not
disclose or use any information contained in it. If you receive this
e-mail by mistake, please notify us immediately by return e-mail
Sir,
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Anti-fraud resources: