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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.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "any lucrative business in your country" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- 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.
- hsbcpeterwong@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Peter Wong" <hsblpeterwong@protonmail.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2018 18:47:30 -0000
Subject: Investment opportunity
Greetings,
Please find the content of this mail very confidential. my name is Peter
Wong, I work with a Bank here in Hong Kong. I decided to contact you for
an opportunity to invest in any lucrative business in your country.
We also offer a quick loan at low interest rate, if you are interested
please reply me for more information on my private e-mail:
hsbcpeterwong@gmail.com
Sincerely: Peter Wong
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Anti-fraud resources:
