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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
- 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.
- +447087696529 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
Fraud email example:
From: ibrar1234
Reply-To: mr.josephfeith@outlook.com
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 01:03:56 +0530
Subject: URGENT REPLY NEEDED
This is a legal confidential text for public records search. My name is Ba=
rrister Joseph Feith,a personal attorney to a deceased who may relate to yo=
u (name withheld for security reason) who died with no Will or Next of Kin.=
My firm is seeking for the next of kin.He died with his family in a plane c=
rash. Since you both bear the same surname,kindly get back to us for more c=
larification. ESQ .JOSEPH FEITH Tel: +44 708 769 6529
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Anti-fraud resources:
