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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.
- 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.
- completeyourtaxrefund@consultant.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: TaxRefund@taxref.com
Reply-To: CompleteyourTaxRefund@consultant.com
Date: 02 Oct 2017 16:18:26 +0200
Subject: Last annual calculation of your fiscal activity
I am sending this email to announce:
After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have
determined that you are eligible to Receive a Tax return of:
USD 820.55
In order to complete your Tax Refund, we require one proof of
identity and one proof of address.
Please provide a colored copy of your valid ID and proof of
address no longer than 3 months (ANY utility bill, bank statement
etc). The following ID(s) that we accept are:
- Passport (full details page and barcode has to be visible)
- Driver's license
- Utility Bill (Not mobile phones)
* A photo of yourself holding your Passport/Driver's license in
your hand (has to be visible) so we can carry out a full
identification, this picture it can also be made with a webcam or
a smartphone that will be able to take a good photo. A "selfie"
with your Passport would be great.
Please send documentation to :
CompleteyourTaxRefund@consultant.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
