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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: "WEBMAIL MESSAGE MANAGEMENT CENTER" <info@webmaster.org>
Reply-To: swebmaster376@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2012 20:15:55 +0330
Subject: Dear Valued Mail User
Dear Valued Mail User,
We are on maintenance duties you have to
provide your password to avoid your account
being closed you have to get back to us in
the next 24 hours.
upgrades
To help us fight spam and to prevent your
account from unsolicited spam e-mails you
will have to confirm you credentials below
for it to be upgraded accordingly.
CONFIRM YOUR EMAIL IDENTITY BELOW
Email Username:
Email Password:
Alternative Email:
WARNING!!! All account owner that refuses to
comply with this update will lose his or her
email within seven days of receiving this
notice.
Thank you for your understanding and
anticipated compliance.
We are upgrading to serve you better.
Regards,
WEBMAIL MESSAGE MANAGEMENT CENTER
(Anti Spam Unit)
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Anti-fraud resources:
