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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:
- "the consignment" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "consignment " (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- 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.
- vivianhjames@yahoo.fr (Yahoo, France; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From:
=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=AAVivian_James=E2=80=AC_=E2=80=AA?= <vivian_88j@rediffmail.com>
Reply-To:
=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=AAVivian_James=E2=80=AC_=E2=80=AA?= <vivianhjames@yahoo.fr>
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2015 19:45:44 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: My Dear One,
 My Dear One,
Hi i am Mrs. Vivian James 35 years with three kids and my husband is late so I am contacting you because i am looking for a good person that will help me to invest my fund for the future of my kids. I have $3.5 Million Dollars in a security firm here and i need a sincere person that will help me to move the consignment worth the sum out of this country to your country and invest it in a profitable venture, i inherited this fund from my late husband, i am ready to offer you $500.000 Dollars for your kind help and i want you to understand that the security company does not know the real content of the consignment box. Please if you are interested to help me and my kids use my private email address below to contact me so that i will tell you more details about myself and how to proceed over this project ( vivianhjames@yahoo.fr )
Sincerely,
Vivian and kids.
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Anti-fraud resources:
