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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:
- "a diplomat " ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist 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: "Diplomat " <test@andrevillemont.com>
Reply-To: freddiejohn65@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2018 17:43:33 +0200
Subject: Payment..
Attn I am a Diplomat named Mr Timothy Bruce johnson, Mandated to deliver yo=
ur funds to you in your country of residence. And you were made the benefic=
iary of this funds by a benefactor whose details will be revealed to you af=
ter handing over the funds to you in accordance with the Agreement i signed=
with the benefactor when he enlisted my assistance in delivering the funds=
to you. I am currently at the Airport and before i can deliver the package=
(funds) to you, You have to re-confirm the following information so as to =
ensure that i am dealing with the right person. 1. Full Name: 2. Residentia=
l Address: 3. Age: 4. Occupation: 5. Direct Cell Telephone Numbers: After v=
erification of the information with what i have on file, i shall contact yo=
u so that we can make arrangements on the exact time i will be bringing you=
r package to your residential address. Send the requested information immed=
iately so that i can proceed to your address. Reply to this email: Timothyj=
@deliveryman.com Regards Diplomat Mr Timothy Bruce johnson
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Anti-fraud resources:
