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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:
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "you are advise to" (this email uses bad English)
- This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
- They don't notify winners by email.
- You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
- They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
- They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
- They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
- They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
- They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
Fraud email example:
From: State Mobile Lottery Promo <mobileresult_lotttt015@msn.com>
Reply-To: <dr_richardhill01@live.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:21:28 +0000
Subject: State Email Winning Promo!!!!
STATE EMAIL WINNING PROMO
Attention Sir/Madam,
We happily announce to you the result of electronic email
Address draw of State mobile lottery promo draws held on January 2012
in U.S.A we wish to inform you that your email have won $500,000.00USD
from the State Mobile Lottery Program. You are advise to Contact your
regional claims DR.RICHARD HILL immediately through email or phone and
file your claim .
1. Your Name:
2. Your Sex:
3. Your Country/Nationality:
4. Your Phone No:
5. Your Age:
6. Your Occupation.
7. Your Religion.
8. Your Email:
Send the above information to Claims Agent Details Below;
Agent: DR.RICHARD HILL
EMAIL: drrichardhill@live.com
Signed,
Management
Maria Jenson
Lottery coordinator.
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Anti-fraud resources:
