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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:
- "million us dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "MRS. PATRICIA GREEN" <imfintrmoneytryoffic@gmail.com>
Reply-To: paytdept@accountant.com
Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 11:59:28 +0100
Subject: Good Friday
BENEFICIARY SIR/MADAM,
THIS IS TO BRING TO YOUR NOTICE THAT YOUR ATM CARD WORTH THE SUM OF $15.5
MILLION US DOLLARS HAS BEEN ISSUED AND FORWARDED TO MY DESK FOR ONWARD
DELIVERY TO YOU TODAY.
HOWEVER THE ONLY THING THAT WE REQUIRE FROM YOU IS YOUR PRESENT LOCATION
ADDRESS, YOUR DIRECT MOBILE/YOUR LAND TELEPHONE NUMBER(S) AND YOUR PASSPORT
OR DRIVERS LICENSE WHICH THE DELIVERY PERSONNEL WILL CALL YOU UPON AND
IDENTIFY YOU ON ARRIVAL.
YOUR ATM CARD WILL BE VALID FOR TWO YEARS AND YOU CAN DOWN LOAD TO CHECK
YOUR ACCOUNT BALANCE AND EVEN PAY FOR GOODS AND SERVICES FROM ANY ATM
MACHINE ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD.
GET THIS DETAILS FORWARDED TO US IMMEDIATELY YOU RECEIVE THIS E-MAIL NOW
FOR ONWARD DISPATCH OF YOUR ATM CARD.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
MRS. PATRICIA GREEN.
OFFICE OF THE FOREIGN RESERVE,
FOREIGN DEPARTMENT.
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Anti-fraud resources:
