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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "MARK PEN & ASSOCIATES" <alert@freightcenterca.net>
Reply-To: <barristermarkpen10@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:23:38 -0400
Subject: MARK PEN & ASSOCIATES[Scanned]
The information in this e-mail (which includes any files transmitted with it) is intended for the addressee only. You should not copy it or disclose its contents to anyone. You may use and apply the information for the intended purpose only. Internet communications are not secure; therefore, Rydal Penrhos School does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. Any views or opinions presented are those of the author only and not of Rydal Penrhos School. If this email has come to you in error, please delete it, along with any attachments. Whilst we run anti-virus software on all internet e-mails we are not liable for any loss or damage. Please note that Rydal Penrhos School may intercept incoming and outgoing email communications.
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Anti-fraud resources:
