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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:
- "million dollars" (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)
- "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Victoria Gallagher" <officefile1814@cantv.net>
Reply-To: victoria.gallagher@yandex.com
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 21:23:44 -0430 (VET)
Subject: ***SPAM*** Reply for more details
Greetings my dear, I crave your indulgence as a God fearing individual to help use my money for charity and also assist the poor with less privileged in the society. I am a widow from United States fighting cancer and will want you to use $8.5 million dollars for this charity purpose because my doctors assume I have only a few weeks to live. Give me your word that the money will be used to help the less privileged so that i give you more details. Its urgent, please send reply to my secured mail ( victoria.gallagher@yandex.com )
Best Regards,
Mrs. Victoria Gallagher
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Anti-fraud resources:
