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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:
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Pedro Bafi" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <pedrobafi@gmx.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:04:18 -0400
Subject: From Mr. P Bafi ****Important Business Proposal****
This message might meet you in utmost surprise, however, It’s just my urgent need For foreign partner that made me to contact you for this transaction.
I am the manager in charge of Auditing section with a bank in Spain, I need your urgent assistance in transferring the sum of ($5.5 million) immediately to your account.
I will send you full details on how the business will be executed and also note that you will receive 40% of the above mentioned amount if you agree to help me execute this business.
Please reply me with your full name and contact telephone numbers
For more clarification reply me back and please note that the claims is 100% risk free.
Regards,
Mr. Pedro Bafi
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Anti-fraud resources:
