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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Ryan Mackenzie" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ryanmentorship@outlook.com>
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2021 09:53:44 +0200
Subject: Potential partner
Dear friend,
I reviewed your reputable profile which gives me the insight that you will be a potential business partner in a crude oil venture of two million barrels monthly involving the Ministry of Petroleum of Angola and refining companies. Though this might not be your area of specialty, this crude oil venture will earn commissions up to the value of $4million in revenue averagely per trade with MINPET. I will present you with more details of this venture subsequent to your response.
Regards,
Ryan Mackenzie
Oilwell Management Consultant
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Anti-fraud resources:
