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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million us dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: suma <ali_suma07070@voila.fr>
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:12:37 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: MR.SUMA O. ALI.BEST REGARDS.
DEAR,
I AM MR.USMA O.
ALI ,
I WORK IN THE FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT, BANK OF AFRICA (B.O.A.)
OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO.I HAVE A BUSINESS WHICH WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO
BOTH OF US.
THE
AMOUNT OF MONEY INVOLVED IS ($14 MILLION US DOLLARS) WHICH I WANT TO
TRANSFER FROM AN ABANDONED ACCOUNT TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT,IT IS 100% RISK
FREE .FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT ME ON EMAIL:
BEST REGARDS,
MR.USMA O. ALI
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Anti-fraud resources: