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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:
- "into your nominated bank account" (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: "Brenntag" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <infotransac@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2013 17:24:28 -0800
Subject: Our Ref:Remittance of Your Fund.
I am pleased to inform you that your long awaited fund is being processed for release to you.
Your $7.5 Million U.S. which was suppose to be released into your nominated bank account has been on hold due to some prevailing logistical factors, suffice me to say that all of that will be history because certain mechanism has put in place to ensure that you receive your fund without any impediment or delay.
Due to the fact that year is almost running to an end and considering the fact that your fund has not been processed for a long period of time, it is paramount that I inform you that time is of the essence in this matter so you have to acknowledge the receipt of this email for us to move forward.
I await your response.
Regards,
Donald Hale.
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Anti-fraud resources:
