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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.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
- 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.
- roffic10@hotmail.com (Hotmail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
- .................. phone: .................. to this email: roffic10@hotmail.com to enable us dispatches the atmcard to your position (Hotmail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Vivian Ham" <un.office2ng@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrs.vivianham@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 07 Apr 2018 20:23:24 +0200
Subject: RE: I M TRYING TO E-MAIL YOU
Valued Attention,
This email is being sent to you as a result of a single matching
drawn numbers found in the international computer data system
registered in your favor under your email address with strong
indication that you are eligible to receive this optional repayment of
(Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand US Dollar) been your unpaid (lost
money owed to you) which has been abandoned by sacked officials.
Please note that your overdue payment has already been process and
programmed and is available in the ATM Rewards Gold Card to be used by
you anywhere in the world.
You will receive your ATM card and the PIN in a sealed envelope in
approximately 2 to 4 business days at the address you will provide.
You are advice to reconfirm: Your Full Name: ..................
Address: ..................
Phone: ..................
to this email: roffic10@hotmail.com to enable us dispatches the ATMCARD
to your position according to the international payment schedule.
Thanks for your understanding as we believe this is in order.
Cordially,
Best regard,
Mrs. Vivian Ham
Verification Inspection Officer
E-mail: mrs.vivianham@gmail.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
