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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:
- "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Rosemary <juletodily2005@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: rose_jacobs90@yahoo.com
Date: Sat, 22 May 2010 09:33:57 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: hello dear
hello
dear
compliments of
the day!
I got your
contact on my private search for a reliable and trusted person; I know
that this email will meet you in a good health and also surprisely but
God have his own way of bringing people together.I was moved to write to
you and also seek your advice of which i know that it helps me to
overcome my present situation,I'm presently single and searching for a
trusted and God fearing person. My dearest,In your free time, may it
please you to write me back so that i can explain more about myself,my
details,my pictures and my purpose of writing to you.Please do not
neglect a humble and lonely
heart that seeks for your love. A good
friendship is the foundation build on other relative things to come. May
God bless you as i wait impatiently to read from you
Yours
Rosemary.
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Anti-fraud resources:
