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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:
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "my direct telephone number" (a "direct line" in a scam usually means an untraceable mobile phone number used by a scammer in an internet cafe, a redirection service number that forwards to a mobile or a free voicemailbox in a different country.)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
- 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.
- dpconan444@yahoo.com (Yahoo; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Dr. Paul Conan" <dpconan@gmail.com>
Reply-To: dpconan@Safe-mail.net
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2012 21:08:23 +0600 (BDT)
Subject: Good day
From: Dr. Paul Conan
Attn: Friend
Firstly, I got your contact from a close friend whom works with
international chamber of commerce here. I know that my correspondence to
you may appear as a surprise to you since we have not meet or communicate
before but I have taking the decision to contact you on this regards after
going through your profile to see if we can keep to ourselves by giving
ourselves a step of trial. However, it’s just my urgent need for foreign
associate that leads me to you for this mutual benefit able transaction
only if we can keep to us. I am a banker by profession from Cote D’Ivoire
and currently holding the post of Director Auditing and Accounting unit of
the bank.
I discovered a left over sum of ($22million). These sum was on the name of
our deceased customer late Richard Burson, who died on (Egypt Air line
990), along with his family on a plane crash you can verify through the
following web site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/502503.stm Hence I
am inviting you for a business deal with my position in the bank here we
will claim the funds then share within us in the ratio of 50/50 as a
brotherhood. This deal is 100% risk free as far as we can keep the
confidentiality of it to ourselves and I will make sure that every
modalities that will carry us along will be worked out.
If you are interested in my business proposal. further details on how to
proceed to the next stage to archive our aim will be forwarded to you as
soon as I receive your return mail along with the following information's.
1.NAME IN FULL:.
2.ADDRESS:.
3.NATIONALITY:.
4.AGE:.
5.SEX...
6.OCCUPATION:.
7.PRIVATE PHONE NO..
8.PRIVATE FAX NO:.
I will be expecting hearing from you through this my private email address
bellow you can as well call me for further discussion through my direct
telephone number.
Regards.
Dr Paul Conan
dpconan444@yahoo.com
Tel: 22548818399
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Anti-fraud resources:
