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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:
- "waiting for your urgent response" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- 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.
- mpfebve019@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Maria Pfebve" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mpfebve019@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2016 14:27:28 -0800
Subject: Please Help
My greetings to you,
My name is Mrs. Maria Pfebve, a Zimbabwean living in Johannesburg South Africa, Having sourced your contact, I felt compelled to involve you in this noble project out of the few contacts I got. Although we have not met before but faith has a way of uniting people. My choosing you is borne out of sheer conviction that our relationship will eventually transcends business/personal relationship in which you and your family will benefit immensely. This is a true life situation and it happened to me. I will tell you everything you need to know & how it happened as soon as I receive your response. I am anxiously waiting for your urgent response. Get back to me if you are interested for more details of this financial/Investment opportunity via my email mpfebve019@gmail.com
Have a blessed day.
Regards,
Mrs. Maria Pfebve
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Anti-fraud resources:
