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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mac Collins (Esq.)" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <barristermaccollins@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2015 16:21:46 -0500
Subject: I Wait Your Reply
Dear Friend,
I pray that this letter will find you in good health.
I am Barrister Mac Collins, my aim of contacting you is to negotiate with you a business opportunity that will benefit both of us. I seek your assistance to evacuate some large sum of money from Europe to a trusted bank account in your country for investment. We have agreed to give you 30% of the total amount for your kind assistance. If you are willing to work with me please get back to me with your Full Name, Address and Phone Number. I will give you more detail of the money and the transfer process if I hear back from you.
Thank you
Mac Collins (Esq.)
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Anti-fraud resources:
