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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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: "Leslie Molefe" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <les1molefe@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2015 01:45:11 +0200
Subject: Consent
Dear Friend,
I am Engineer Leslie Molefe, Projects Supervisor under South African Ministry of Minerals and Energy Resources. I am making this contact with you based on the committee’s need for an individual / company who is willing to assist us with a solution to an overdue contract Claim.
If you feel this may be of interest, write me back on my private e-mail or call my direct telephone Tel/Fax: +27 84 493 9708 for more details and clarification.
On receipt of your response, I will forward to you further information which will give you a clearer overview of this opportunity.
Yours faithfully,
Engr. Leslie Molefe
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Anti-fraud resources:
