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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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Gary McKinnon" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <garymckinnon631@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2015 22:29:55 -0000
Subject: PART-TIME JOB
Hello,
Are you interested in a part time job? I am in need of someone who can take care of services for me in the US.
Your job would require receiving money for goods on my behalf and I will give you further instructions on how to forward the money to wherever I instruct. If you have a business address where I can have some goods ( Computer Accessories) shipped to its an added advantage.
You will be paid on commission basis so let me know if you are interested in this part time job. Take note that you are required to have an active bank account to be eligible for this job. If interested let me know and I will send you further information. You are to send me your full name, physical address and the name of your bank.
Regards,
Gary McKinnon
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Anti-fraud resources:
