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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:
- "diplomatic courier" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "DR.JOHN ADAMS" <officemail6665655@virgilio.it>
Reply-To: central_11@sify.com
Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:48:53 +0100 (CET)
Subject: CBN
MY DEAR I WAS WAITING FOR YOU TO RE-COMFIRM YOUR INFORMATION TO AVOID ANY
WRONG DELIVER OF YOUR Diplomatic courier service PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU
DON'T MAKE ANY MISTAKE IN YOUR ADDRESS BECAUSE EVERY ARRANGEMENT HAS BEEN MADE
AFTER OUR MEETING TODAY WITH MY PRESIDENT OF (NGE) CONCERNING YOUR FUND WHICH
IS ABOUT $10.5M ONLY VIA FedEx COURIER SERVICE. BELOW IS NEEDED IMMEDAITELY
FOR YOUR SUCCESSFULL DELIVERY
1) FULL NAME.......
2) HOME ADDRESS WHERE YOU
WANT
THEM TO SEND IT....
3) DIRECT PHONE/OFFICE........
4)
AGE/ACCUPATION.............
DR.JOHN ADAMS
DEPERTMENT CBN)
email:central_11@sify.
com
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Anti-fraud resources:
