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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.
- 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: "Worldwide High Priority Deliveries" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <s_belucci@yahoo.it>
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 14:02:48 +0100
Subject: Your Parcel Arrived
Your Parcel Arrived
Call us with your code : MP5H ,this is your identification code with which we can confirm your package which has been pending clearance in our office for delivery to you.
Call us on : +44 793 766 7465 or respond to this email message.
This message should be attended to promptly so that we can conclude delivery to you.
Send us your full name,phone number and address for processing to commence.
Sig. Santo Belucci
Parcel Recovery Unit
Accounting section 1
+44 793 766 7465
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Anti-fraud resources: