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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. John Achu" <r.pet00004@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mr.johnachugh@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 22:14:25 +0000
Subject: SUPPLY INQUIRY
Dear Sir/madam,
We are authorized Registered Agent based in Ghana,Our scope is
basically searching for companies to bid for government contract on
commission basis.The Economic Community Of West African States is
willing to purchase your products in a large bulk Quantity for the
on-going project AGENDA and to avoid mistaking your products
information, Could you furnish us your product information
e-brochure/catalog with the specification and prices
Terms of Payment:An upfront payment of 80% (T/T) will be made to your
account, while 20% will be paid before shipment.and you will need to
do official tender registration with the Project Commission when you
are submitting your invoice & bidding documents for approval.Contact
us by mail if you are interested for details.
Hope to hear from you.
Best Regards,
Mr.John Achu.
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Anti-fraud resources:
