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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:
- "million united states 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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "FBI DIRECTOR" <info@fbi.org>
Reply-To: national.crimeinformationcenter@vp.pl
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2017 00:21:19 +0800
Subject: RE:FUND INVESTIGATION
HELLO,
We are using this medium to communicate to you, we want you to know that your transaction is under-watch by us. We were only able to secure Two Million United States Dollars ($2,000,000.00US) from the imposters who are ripping you and other America citizens together the rest of the World. You are among who were shot listed to receive the fund of Two Million United States Dollars ($2,000,000.00US) for compensation by the United States Government through the Federal Bureau of Investigation for scam victim through the internet. We will need your urgent respond so we can ensure you receive your fund within 48hours. We have tried to call you but the call was engage that why we mail you to your mail account. Kindly fill the below information to enable us proceed successfully.
FULL NAME..............
PHONE NUMBER...........
HOME ADDRESS...........
AGE....................
Thanks
FBI DIRECTOR
Washington Field Office
national.crimeinformationcenter@vp.pl
917-725-2868
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Anti-fraud resources:
