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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:
- "waiting for your urgent response" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "BARR MARK EDWARD" <mark.edward@vp.pl>
Reply-To: barrmarkedward46@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2018 12:55:58 +0200
Subject: Please Treat As Very Urgent!!!
Good Day,
How are you doing today? i was expecting to hear from you as regard to the $1,500.000 USD in the bank, since the money was made ready for transfer to your account, nothing has been heard of you and the bank keep calling me to ask when the fund will be transferred to your account.
Please respond back because the last time you sent me an email you did not say anything good because you lost hope of receiving the fund but now the bank is ready to wire the $1.5 US Dollars with interest generated by the fund to any account of your choice.
Once, i hear from you now i will give you the bank details for you to contact and complete the transfer procedure and make sure you receive you money by transfer or ATM card.
Waiting for your Urgent response.
Regards
Mark Edward
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Anti-fraud resources:
