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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: NANCY TORRES <nanto77@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: NANCY TORRES <nanto77@live.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2013 03:12:26 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: SAD TRIP.....NANCY TORRES
Hi,
I really hope you get this fast. I could not inform anyone about my trip as it was was UN-announced.i took a short vacation and visited Manilla, Philippines. Everything was going on fine until last night when i was mugged by some unknown gunmen.
All cash and credit cards was taken from me including some valuables,thank God they didn't hurt anyone or take my passports.Right now am in a financial mess due to unsettled bills owed at the hotel.I have reported to the local authorities and have also contacted the consulate but was told to hang on for couple of days before this mess can be straightened out and the worst of it all is my return flight leaves in few hours,
At this time i really need your attention to resolve this mess and all i need is some loan to sort things out.I promise to ref refund you every dime owed as soon as i get home.Please write back so i can let you know how to get some money to me..
Nancy
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Anti-fraud resources:
