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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:
- "loan amount" (Beware of fake loan offers. Real lenders would not normally use free webmail addresses such as Yahoo, nor would they lend to individuals or small businesses in a different country from where they are based. Beware of mobile phones or redirector numbers!)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Prashant R Bijapur <prashantrb@vrllogistics.com>
Reply-To: joneswhitefinacialhome@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2015 03:49:56 +0530 (IST)
Subject: loan
do you need an urgent loan to start up your business and pay off dept
apply now
Note: You are to Fill the Loan Application Information and Return so
that we will have more details about you on this Loan Transfer.
LOAN APPLICATION FORM.
* Name Of Applicant:
* Address:
* City:
* State:
* Country:
* Gender:
* Marital Status:
* Occupation:
* Monthly Income:
* Tel:
* Mobile:
* Loan Purpose:
* Loan Amount Needed:
* Loan Duration:
* Have you apply before:
In acknowledgment to these details, I will send you a well calculated
Terms and Condition which will include the agreement. All information
is strictly confidential and will only be used for the purpose to
which it is been requested. NOTE: We shall be expecting your response
as soon as you get this message. Thanks for your understanding and
co-operation.
Best Regards.
Mr Jones White
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Anti-fraud resources:
