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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:
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- 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: Mr Anthony Goodluck<donaldb@att.net>
Reply-To: anthony_goodluck112@duzcefb.org
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 07:04:45 +0530
Subject: COMPENSATION FOR YOUR PAST SCAM VICTIM!!!
Dear Beneficiary,
Your name was listed among of those to be compensated for the past scam victim's
We bring this to your notice to let you know that the UN / IMF Authorities has finally Approved (USD$5,000,000.00) in your name which can be payable in any bank in your country; Please, reconfirm your Info to us. So that We may be sure that you owns the check. Reconfirm this information stated below for documentation and for proper processing.
Your Full Name:
Your Home Address:
Yours Office Address:
Direct Telephone Number:
Age and Occupation:
A copy of your Drivers License/International Passport:
We await to hear from you to enable us quickly proceed and forward your Data to our Correspondent Paying Bank.
Call me +2348028966838
Best Regards,
Mr.Anthony Goodluck.
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Anti-fraud resources: