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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Alice Obi <aliceobi025@yahoo.co.th>
Reply-To: alce_obi@hotmail.com
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:50:55 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: hi
Beloved Friend
Pardon me for addressing you this way, with tears and bitterness in my heart, I am contacting you for assistance because my doctor just announced to me that i have less than 2 months to live. I have case of Esophagus cancer which I have lived with quite some years now. Am admitted in Kuching cancer hospital where am taking my treatment. In regards to that, I want to leave all my life savings with the Sparkasse Bank in Germany for a humanitarian organization or an individual who is willing to build a charity organization to take care of the less fortune kids and orphans with my life savings.
It has been my dream to take care of the less privileged kids. The total amount is $6.2million, the person will take 25% of the fund and 75% will be used for the charity project. I grew up as an orphan and i know how it is to come from there. I will provide you with information you need if you indicate your interest/ willingness.
Mrs. Alice Obi
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Anti-fraud resources:
