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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "please endeavor to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Tom West <princeopara35@gmail.com>
Reply-To: tomwest20121@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2014 22:53:39 -0700
Subject: From Tom West
Dear Friend,
Greetings to you. My name is Mr.Tom West. I work in a bank in the
United Kingdom.I will need your assistance in this business
transaction. I would need your assistance in applying for the next of
kin to my late customer, who died of cancer after years of struggling
with the disease.He was a wealthy Business man who deposited a huge
amount sum of (£10,750.000.00) in our bank. He died without any
registered next of kin as he was a divorcee and had no child. On your
confirmation of this message and indicating your interest, I will
furnish you with more details.Please endeavor to provide me the
following in your reply:
1.Your Full Name:................
2.Your Contact Address:..........
3.Your Profession:...............
4.Your Age:......................
5.Your Phone:....................
I urgently hope to get your response as soon as possible.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr.Tom West.
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Anti-fraud resources:
