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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- mr.pual222smith@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Paul Smith" <mr.pual222smith@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 13 May 2014 23:13:59 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: INVESTMENT ENQUIRY
Dear Sir/CEO,
I was searching for a reliable and well-trusted person with a good track record in your country then I came across your profile via your embassy business book.
There is urgent and confidential investment I would like to discuss with you as I seek for your assistance for the investment. I hope you might interest to be part of this. Kindly return my email to enable us to discuss in details about this investment and see if it suite you.
Looking forward to hear from you.
Best Regard,
Mr.Paul Smith.
Email: mr.pual222smith@gmail.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
