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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: James Norman <pin5us@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: normaninvestment2@videobank.it
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:47:41 -0500
Subject: URGENT REPLY NEEDED
Dear Sir,
Sorry for not contacting you since due to my illness that kept me on bed rest
since 2010 after my contacting you for investment in your country.I know that
there is a lot of fake proposal in the internet world but this transaction is
real.
Sincerely I want to prove myself to you by making sure that you receive and
invest my fund in your country.As soon as i hear from you confirming your
willingness to invest on my behalf in your country i will give you my detail
plans as i am fit now and with good arrangement to conclude the
investment plan
with you.
My contacting you after a long time will confirm to you that this business
transaction is real as if the transaction is not real i would not contact you
again after staying in a sick bed for almost two years.
Bear in mind that anything that has original also has fake so my business is
real so you should try and you will be convinced.
Waiting urgently,
Mr Norman James
Reply TO: normaninvestment@videobank.it
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Anti-fraud resources: