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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- lichen005@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Li Chen" <info@lichen.com>
Reply-To: lichen005@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:14:58 -0100
Subject: very important information!!!
Dear Friend,
I am Li Chen who the account manager in China Trust Bank, a licensed bank
incorporated in China Asia. I am getting in touch with you regarding my late
customer who died here in Asia without a next of kin and an investment worth
millions of dollars placed in our bank some years ago.
This will be executed under a legitimate arrangement since you bear the same
last name with the deceased. We are contacting you independently and will
intimate you more about details of the project if and when we receive your
response.
Kindly get back to us if you are interested in partnering with us on this
project. Reply to this e-mail address:
Sincerely,
Li Chen
lichen005@yahoo.com.hk
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Anti-fraud resources:
