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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.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "loanfromsmith@gmail.com" (This email address looks like addresses used in fake loan scams. Be suspicious of any lender who uses a free webmail address or who is based in different country from yourself.)
- 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.
- loanfromsmith@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: smiths andersons <loanfromsmith@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2011 03:46:38 -0700
Subject: we offer financial help
Startech Loan Agency is a non-banking financial organization .We
offers current commercial and real estate loans. We also offer short
to long-terms investment in real estate financing, factoring and SBA
504 loans. We provide capital up to € 500 million to serve our
customers' specific requirements, ranging from commercial real estate
and Acquisition of fixed assets, investing in real estate financing,
refinancing, partner buyout and working capitals.
Please contact
Dr. Anderson smith
loanfromsmith@gmail.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
