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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 mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +447035945591 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: Warwick jones <warwickjones_23@msn.com>
Reply-To: <warwickjones6@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2009 16:07:48 +0000
Subject: PAYMENT NOTIFICATION FROM BANK OF ENGLAND
Warwick Jones
Director of Finance.
Bank of England
Direct Line: +4470359 45591
Office Line: +447005930887
Fax: +447005931447
www.bankofengland.co.uk
Ref: BOE/DOF/4556/09
Attention Sir/Ma,
The Finance and Exchange Department of Bank of England has been obligated to contact you for the immediate release of you fund whose account has become dormant and subsequently reported/forwarded to my department as unclaimed fund. Our findings has revealed that the problem behind your inability to have received your fund from the corresponding bank resulted from lack of transparency, insincerity and incessant demand for money by your representative for unusual payments, we have therefore decided to establish as direct payment system (DPS) with you for the prompt payment of your funds without any hitch.
We therefore request that you respond to this letter immediately to enable us proceed with the release of your fund accordingly.
Personal Secretary.
Please reply to the the office of:
Warwick Jones, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
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Anti-fraud resources:
