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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:
- "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!)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mr Jones Terry <paulaloanfirm1@gmail.com>
Reply-To: jonesloanfirm@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2015 00:42:38 -0800
Subject: HAPPY NEW YEAR UPDATE...
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HAPPY NEW YEAR UPDATE...
Happy New Year,i bring you peace and hope this year that God will
fulfill our promise so i want to use this great opportunity to let you
know that your loan is on.I know you will be needing loan to pay off
your bills or start up something to help the family so i want to ask
you if you can be able to proceed with this loan so that i can info
the bank asap.Pleas urgent respond is highly needed most especially
now.
Thanks and God bless you and your loving family.
Mr Jones Terry
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Anti-fraud resources:
