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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:
- "western union" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
Fraud email example:
From: roland-laroche <m_dikko50@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: roland-laroche <roland-laroche1@laposte.net>
Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2015 17:03:32 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Re:To your attention.
To your attention.
The
Western Union- structure Africa has recently launched an operation aimed
to compensate customers who have been the victim of scam After several
Data base analysis, technical and other crossing your e-mail address is
detected as a potential victim of a network con stretching from France
to west Africa with several branches in Asia Minor and the Middle East
Many
technical structures such as Microsoft and Yahoo Taffeta services and
security as Interpol and general intelligence services of the EU states
coordinated their activities to dismantle all its ramifications who
abused a thousand people throughout the Europe.
A technical
commission compensation was established with the Ministry of Finance of
West African States for a compensation policy called ACT For Credibility
"
We therefore ask you to contact us for more information if
you are a victim and want to be compensated as quickly as possible
through a civil procedure and financial
In my capacity as a
lawyer I will serve as intermediaries between you and the civilian
authorities in charge to repay what you have paid by Western Union and
other money transfer services
Me Roland Laroche
Law firm laroche And Cos
Loaded folders / Me Roland Laroche.
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Anti-fraud resources:
