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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Martins Cole" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <martinscolelondon1@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2016 19:02:30 +0800
Subject: YOUR URGENT RESPONSE IS NEEDED !!
Dear
This is to inform you that we have been following your transaction as
regards receipt of your long over due funds and all necessary
arrangement have been put in place to ensure you receive your funds in
your Country. This is upon your ability to adhere strictly to our lay
down directives to avoid any form of complication or hindrance. You
will be availed of the workable procedures as soon as a return email
is received from you.
Martins Cole
Global financial monitoring organ (G.F.M.O)
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Anti-fraud resources:
