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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:
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Frank Wilson <test@CRABHOSTEL.COM>
Reply-To: f.willson75@yahoo.com.ph
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 21:12:34 +0100
Subject: Please reconfirm your delivery informations!!!
Dear ,
This is to inform you that your funds has been approved to be released to you via ATMCARD delivery and I have successfully registered your Atmcard worth US$10.5 Million with the Courier Company & your parcel registration number is 1053521090000.
Please reconfirm your delivery informations for the final reconciliation of your delivery details:-
Your Names:
Your Delivery address
Your Mobile/Phone Number:
Name of the closest airport to your residence:
Attach copy of your drivers License/ Internation Passport.
Finally, delivery has been scheduled to take place on the 7th-20th of November, 2014. So act fast for your parcel to be included in the next batch.
Regards,
Mr. Frank Wilson
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Anti-fraud resources:
