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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:
- "calvary greetings" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Anita Scott" <switcheek75@gmail.com>
Reply-To: <anitascott55@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2009 13:15:07 -0700
Subject: My Potty Trained Yorkshire Terrier
CALVARY GREETINGS,
MY NAME IS MRS. ANITA SCOTT MY HUSBAND AND I ARE ON A CHRISTIAN MISSION
TO AFRICA AND I CAME ALONG WITH MY PUPPY (YORKIE).
AFTER A WHILE I NOTICED THAT THE AFRICAN WEATHER IS NOT GOOD FOR THE
PUPPY AND I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF HER THE WAY I ALWAYS
DO BECAUSE OF MY JOB. I NEED SOMEONE TO ADOPT HER AND TAKE CARE OF HER
THE WAY I ALWAYS DO.
IF YOU CAN TAKE CARE OF HER DO SEND A REPLY TO ME WITH YOUR NEARBY
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND I WILL EMAIL YOU HER PICTURE.
I HOPE TO READ FROM YOU,
ANITA
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Anti-fraud resources:
