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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:
- "i want to solicit your attention" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: info@nrgitaly.com
Reply-To: MikBennett@post.com
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2017 21:34:18 -0700
Subject: Deal
I want to solicit your attention for a business deal which I will want to d=
iscuss with you confidentially. I will supply additional information when I=
get a response from you. In view of this, I would advice that you please e=
nsure that your private email is secured to receive vital information's so =
I can send you the details of the transaction for confidentiality reasons w=
hich we must adhere to in this business project. I would discuss further st=
rictly via my private email as I am not comfortable discussing private issu=
es via this channel. Once again, Ensure you have your response sent to my p=
rivate email as stated below. mikebennet7@outlook.com
Kind regards,
Mike Bennett.
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Anti-fraud resources:
