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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:
- "2335572046@qq.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. J. Maci Jon." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <2335572046@qq.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2018 03:48:32 -0800
Subject: Re: First reminder for your Overdue payment.
AFRICAN DEVELOPEMENT BANK(ADB)
FROM: THE OFFICE OF( MR) J. MACI JON.
Email: 2335572046@qq.com
Phone: +2348099097323
Re: First reminder for your Overdue payment.
Dear:
This letter is being written to inform you that your payment of $2.5m has been outstanding for the past months.
Your Outstanding Payment: $2.5m
Charges for late application: $50
Charges of interest: $120
Outstanding due: $170
However, you must understand that it is a mandatory regulation for you as a beneficiary to follow this instructions in order to receive your payment within 3 banking working days. In case of any further doubts and queries you might be having regarding your payment we request you to kindly get in touch with us via email for more clarification.
We hope this hasn’t been a great inconvenience for you. If it has, we’re sorry for the trouble caused. We hope there won’t be any further problems and delays with respect to this issue.
Please regard this matter with the utmost urgency for urgent conclusion of your transaction.
Best regards,
Mr. J. Maci Jon.
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Anti-fraud resources:
