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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- 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: Frank Anderson <ffanderson03@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2014 11:18:13 +0100
Subject: Read and get back to me
Dear Friend.
I am Mr. Frank Anderson, I work in a Bank as an account officer to
late Mr. Roman Blum who happened to has a deposit sum of $8.5 Million
USD with our Bank Before he died of illness. I have try to contact any
of his relative without a success, this is the reason why i send this
mail to you. I want you to stand as his relative so that our Bank can
release this Fund to you. With my help as his account officer
everything will be okay if only you can follow my instructions. He has
no heirs to all his Fund and Estates.
All I need from you is below.
Your full name, Contact address,
Occupation and Cell Phone.
This is what i need from you to present to our Bank for the claim as
the beneficiary of the Fund. As soon as our Bank release the Fund to
you, we will invest the Fund in re-estate or any other business you
may advise.
Sincerely
Mr. Frank Anderson
Fax: +442031639994
Phone: +447937667434
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Anti-fraud resources:
