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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:
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: World Bank Auditors <info@worldbank.com>
Reply-To: <williammartins@qq.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 08:53:21 -0700
Subject: RE: YOUR PAYMENT HAS BEEN APPROVED
World Bank Auditors
African Regional Office,
Abuja,Nigeria
Phone:-+234-809-653-0931
Attn;Beneficiary,
Approval has been given by the United Nations,World Bank in agreement with the Federal Government Of Nigeria for the immediate release of your Long Overdue Inheritance/Contract Payment valued at $10M.The Mode of payment approved is Via an International Visa ATM Card.
Your Personal Identification Number is 0944.You are advised to forward the under listed information for verification and immediate release of your payment.
FULL NAME
ADDRESS
CELL PHONE NUMBERS
OCCUPATION
SEX
AGE
COUNTRY
Get back to me urgently
Regards,
Mr William Martins
Phone +234-809-653-0931
World Bank Auditors
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Anti-fraud resources:
