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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "search for a reliable person" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "barrbrightsteve@yandex.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: "Mr. Steve Bright" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <barrbrightsteve@yandex.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2017 01:23:33 -0700
Subject: I NEED YOUR PARTNERSHIP..
Hello Dear friend
My name is Barr. Steve Bright. I have a business proposal that will benefit you and I and I will like us to discus about this business which is the reason why I sent you this email. I got your email contact during my private search for a reliable person to trust and work with in this business. It is a legitimate business and you will never regret doing it with me if you are interested.
I want you to reply me so that I can explain this business to you in details. Reply me on my private email which is: barrbrightsteve@yandex.com
Regards,
Barr. Steve Bright.
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Anti-fraud resources:
