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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: "Edward Adamu" <advertising@quotesin.com>
Reply-To: cyrilcbn@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Sat, 08 Dec 2018 06:53:07 -0800
Subject: RE: Your US$10.5M is ready for Transfer
Attn: Esteemed Beneficiary . This is to officially inform you that we have =
verified your contract / inheritance/ Compensation fund file and found out =
that you have not received your fund US$10.5M. Meanwhile, the Central Bank =
have been authorized by the President to release and transfer your fund int=
o your account under Seven working days, So you forward your name,address a=
nd direct telephone number for further verification on how your fund US$10.=
5M should be transferred. Waiting for your urgent response Regards. Dr. Edw=
ard Adamu Director Foreign Remittance Central Bank,Nigeria
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Anti-fraud resources:
