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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: "I.M.F" <info@att.com>
Reply-To: irnfinfo@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 02 Feb 2017 17:44:08 +0200
Subject: YOUR OUTSTANDING PAYMENT!!
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) DEPT: WORLD DEBT RECONCILIATION AGENCIES.=
ADVISE: YOUR OUTSTANDING PAYMENT NOTIFICATION Attention: We received Power=
Of Attorney from Mrs Zara Craig and Oliver Lad confirming your demise, hen=
ce an account was presented to replace your details to enhance receiving yo=
ur funds in the tune of $7.5 UNCLAIMED to their names. Below the new accoun=
t they have submitted for claims. BANK.-HSBC CANADA ONTARIO , CANADA ACCOUN=
T NO. 3476-3005-44 The POA confirmed you suffered and died of throat cancer=
.Kindly respond to this email within 24hours if you are still alive we will=
educate you on how best to receive your claim Best Regards,Mr Anthony Will=
iams Director of Finance International Monetary Fund..
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Anti-fraud resources:
