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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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)
- "million us dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- nolanjan2016@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.Nolan Jan" <prof.williamse@gmail.com>
Reply-To: nolanjan2016@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2016 00:50:43 -0800
Subject: CONFIDENTIAL MATTER PLEASE
My Dear Friend,
An earlier e-mail was sent to you without a reply.
I am Mr. Nolan Jan an accountant to Mr. Robert Hudson a native of your
country who died in diamond mine ground collapse.
My client was an expatriate/engineer with Mining industry.
I am happy to inform you that after several attempts to locate my
Client relatives/family members, I found you bearing the same family
name with my client.
I will like us to discuss about my client finances and estate worth
$4.6 Million US Dollars with us.
My client account is presently dormant and his funds will be recovered
by the government because he died in the estate and since then nobody
has ever come for the funds. I need your services to receive these
funds under legal arrangements as I have all the details intact to
ensure a risk free transfer.
I am seeking your consent to present you as the next of kin of my
client so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you for the
safety and subsequent disbursement
since the funds were left behind without any written will or next of
kin details.
If you are willing to assist, your telephone number is necessary for
further discussions and reply to this my private
email(nolanjan2016@hotmail.com).
Yours Faithfully,
Mr.Nolan Jan.
(nolanjan2016@hotmail.com)
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