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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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Morris Coleman" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <morris117@sify.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 00:28:39 -0000
Subject: Part-Time Flexible Online Job Offer for You
Hello,
Would you like to work online from home even if you
don't have a job now and get paid weekly
without affecting your present job, just in case you have one?
MayFair Ltd U.K. needs a book-keeper/representative in
the USA, so we want to know if you would like to work
online from home and get paid without leaving or affecting
your present job just in case you have one now.
If you are interested, respond immediately by sending:
1. Your full names
2. Complete Address (Not P.O. Box)
3. Telephone and fax numbers
WE AWAIT YOUR PROMPT RESPONSE.
Warmest Regards,
Morris Coleman
MayFair Ltd
United Kingdom.
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Anti-fraud resources:
