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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:
- "top of the day to you" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- ",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)
- "loan amount" (Beware of fake loan offers. Real lenders would not normally use free webmail addresses such as Yahoo, nor would they lend to individuals or small businesses in a different country from where they are based. Beware of mobile phones or redirector numbers!)
- "your loan " (Beware of fake loan offers. Real lenders would not normally use free webmail addresses such as Yahoo, nor would they lend to individuals or small businesses in a different country from where they are based. Beware of mobile phones or redirector numbers!)
- "loan applicant" (Beware of fake loan offers. Real lenders would not normally use free webmail addresses such as Yahoo, nor would they lend to individuals or small businesses in a different country from where they are based. Beware of mobile phones or redirector numbers!)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: HOWARD SMITH FINANCE <info@loan.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: destinyinvestmentloans02@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 11:07:10 -0400
Subject: Re: Get Back
Attention !!
Top of the day to you.
We are HOWARD SMITH FINANCIAL COMPANY, a registered and certified
company that offers all kinds of financial assistance at an interest
rate of 2% without any collateral. We offer from the minimum amount of
$2,000 to a maximum of $10,000,000.00 (Ten Million) Of any currency
type.
You are hereby advised to complete the application form below so we
know the amount of you require and its duration.
LOAN APPLICANT FORM
===================
Full Name:
Loan Amount Needed:
Purpose of loan:
Duration of loan:
Sex:
Address:
City:
Country:
Mobile / Cell Phone:
Occupation:
Monthly income:
Be rest assured that your loan application will be handled by Loan
experts and in a professional manner and will receive a prompt
response to your request.
Best regards,
Announcer
Susan Parker
HOWARD SMITH FINANCE
ECON WEB ADVERT.
advertise for $5 per mail.
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