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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.
- 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.
- josepeterson202021@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Jose Peterson <info@admin.org>
Reply-To: <josepeterson202021@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 May 2017 06:31:14 -0400
Subject: Urgent Respond Is Needed.
I am Mr. Jose Peterson, a great citizen of the United States of America, and I was born in Los Angeles, California. I bring to you a proposal, and I need your help. It is painful now to let you know that I have been suffering from a heart disease for the past twelve years and just a few weeks ago my doctors notified me that I will not live more than five months. I want you to help me distribute some funds I kept aside for charity purposes. I wish to give these funds to charity homes and the poor in your state.
Please email josepeterson202021@gmail.com or text me on (918)-553-8313 I will fill you in with more details. You will be paid for rendering this service.
Sincerely,
Jose Peterson
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Anti-fraud resources:
