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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 united states 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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Ms. Carman L. Lapointe" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <carman100@qq.com>
Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2014 02:58:35 -0400
Subject: Ms. Carman L
This is to officially bring to your notice that your p a y m e n t s which amount to 10.5 million United States Dollars is now ready for onward remittance into your choice account.
Below information are required to enable us proceed with the immediate t r a n s f e r of your f u n d s into your nominated b a n k account:
FULL NAME:
FULL CONTACT ADDRESS:
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
OCCUPATION:
SEX:
DATE OF BIRTH:
F u n d Release Approval Code: (UN/ UN2014/009A),
Upon receipt of the above details, we shall commence the immediate t r a n s f e r of your f u n d s without delay.
We sincerely apologize for the delay you have encountered in trying to receive your f u n d s, but we assure you that those delays will never be encountered again.
Accept our congratulations.
Sincerely yours,
Ms. Carman L. Lapointe
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Anti-fraud resources:
