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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.
Fraud email example:
From: South African <federalreservepayingcentre23@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: federalreservepayingcentre1@hotmail.com
Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2013 23:58:27 -0800
Subject: YOUR PAYMENT DETAILS
Attn:
Take note that the Nigerian Government entered into a mutual agreement with the
South African Government that your fund valued at $10 Million be transferred to
you directly from South Africa here due to the lapses in the Nigeria Government
and its failed state so we advise you to state your banking details for the transfer
to be carried out in your behalf this morning from here in South Africa. You can call me for more details +27748116220
Thank you
Mr E L Kganyago
Deputy Governor
South African Reserve Bank, Paying Canter
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Anti-fraud resources:
