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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: "MICHAEL MATTI" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mmattimal@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2016 12:09:53 +0800
Subject: JOB OFFER: REPLY IMMEDIATELY.
Good Day!!! I am Michael Matti, an American citizen and a contractor, currently on holidays in Bali, Indonesia for a month and coming back before the end of February. I need someone to help me run some business errands (part time) in my absence. This will involve buying and delivering stuff by courrier if necessary as well as receiving goods for safe keeping on my behalf. You will be entitled to a commission of Five Hundred and Fifty Dollars (US$550.00) per errand accomplished and all expenses will be fully paid for by me. I will send you money in advance for every task I need you to do.
If interested, please reply with;
1. Your full names
2. Date of Birth
3. Telephone numbers(preferably mobile)
4. Your complete home address and Zip code
Yours truly,
Michael Matti
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Anti-fraud resources:
