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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.
- 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.
- davidsmith06@rediffmail.com
Fraud email example:
From: "David Smith" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <davidsmith06@rediffmail.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2009 03:14:03 +0100
Subject: Job Opening as a Mystery Shopper!
We are company that conducts surveys and evaluates other organizations. We are hired to go to other companies and act like customers in order to rate their service in relation to their customers.
You will be directed to the company or outlet, and you would be given funds to either purchase items or services, after which you would write comments on the staff's activities and give a detailed record of your experience.
Examples of comments:
1. How long did it take to get your service
2. Knowledgability of product or service
3. Professionalism
4. Sometimes you might be required to aggravate the attendant and
record their responses.
We in turn give the information to the company executives so they improve their customer service. Most organizations employ us when they experience a high volume of customer dissatisfaction.
Your identity will be kept confidential. You will be paid $200 for every survey you complete and receive a bonus that can be used for transportation costs and also receive a monthly salary of up to$2000.
No commitment is required for this job, your hours will be flexible. If you are interested please send this
information:
Full name
Address (No P O Box)
City
State
Zipcode
Telephone number
Cellular number
Age
Occupation
You may contact me via email address at davidsmith06@rediffmail.com
Regards.
David Smith.
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Anti-fraud resources:
