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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:
- "huge amount of money" (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)
- "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "mark.harris_dir@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mark Harris <mauriceia.verissimo@unimedjp.com.br>
Reply-To: Mark Harris <mark.harris_dir@outlook.com>
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2015 15:20:45 -0300 (BRT)
Subject:
Name: Mark Harris
Email: mark.harris_dir@outlook.com
Confidential
I am Mark Harris a member of British National lottery commission (www.natlotcomm.gov.uk), where I work as director of audit and project implementation. My colleagues and I decided to remove eleven million five hundred thousand pounds (£11, 500, 000.00) out from unclaimed funds in the project account since 2007. As a civil servant, the code of conduct forbids us from acquiring such huge amount of money while still in service.
It is on this basis that I am soliciting for your assistance. Please do note that I have the authority of my colleagues in this business deal to convey that your consent on this transaction will be highly compensated by percentage agreed upon by both parties after a successful completion of this project. However, I would want to believe that you are honest and will keep this transaction very confidential so as not to tarnish the confidence reposed on us by the British lotto governing body.
Finally I want to assure you that this transaction is scheduled to be completed within fourteen working days, provided you are willing to adhere to my directives concerning the subject matter.
Best regards
Mark Harris
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