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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:
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "FedEx NEW YORK" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <fedeexnewyork@fedeex.co.cc>
Date: Wed, 11 May 2011 10:28:37 -0400
Subject: RECEIVE YOUR ATM CARD INHERITANCE FUND AS URGENT
HI
I AM JUAN CENTO
FedEx SENIOR OFFICER NEW YORK
PHONE: +1-516-554-9096
LOCATION: NY 47th and 3rd 747 3rd Ave .
EMAIL: fedeexnewyork@fedeex.co.cc
I AM CONTACTING YOU TODAY TO INFORM YOU THAT WE RECEIVED AN ATM CARD WORTH OF $15,000,000 .00 MILLION USD ON YOUR BEHALF FROM OCEANIC BANK PLC OF LONDON AS YOUR INHERITANCE FUND WHICH IS LEFT UNPAID FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
NOW OCEANIC BANK HAS FINALLY INSTRUCTED US TO DELIVER YOUR ATM CARD TO YOU SO THAT YOU WILL START WITHDRAWING YOUR INHERITANCE FUND FROM THE ATM CARD ON ANY ATM MACHINE OF YOUR CHOICE.
SO I WILL LIKE YOU TO FORWARD YOUR
FULL NAME:
STATE:
HOUSE ADDRESS:
PHONE NUMBER:
NEAREST AIRPORT:
IDENTITY CARD:
WE WILL DELIVER YOUR ATM CARD BETWEEN 48 HOURS TO YOUR DOOR STEP IMMEDIATELY YOU PROVIDE US THE REQUESTED INFORMATION
REGARD MR JUAN CENTO.
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Anti-fraud resources:
