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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: Mr Light Adam <"yumekana."@carol.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: Mr Light Adam <lightadam28@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 02:30:32 +0900 (JST)
Subject: What Has Kept You Waiting?
Attention
We are surprised as you have not responded to our previous notification
concerning your $650,000, United Nations has decided to compensate you as part
of the empowerment program to reinstate those who have lost money to scammers
in the past. To commence facilitating your transfer, kindly re-confirm the
following
1. Your Names
2. Your Address
3. Your Phone
4. Your Age
5. Your Occupation
6. Copy of your ID
7. Your Country
Waiting for your confirmation, remember further delay will result in
cancellation of your file as unclaimed and your fund will be diverted to
government treasury.
Best regards,
Mr Light Adam
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Anti-fraud resources:
