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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "diplomatic delivery" ("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: "John Kutri" <jkutrii@gmail.com>
Reply-To: jkutri@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 29 Oct 2011 02:50:12 +0500
Subject: DO NOT SEE THIS MESSAGE AS A JUNK.
Mr. John Kutri
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Greetings,
My name is Mr. John Kutri; I am from Republic of Ghana but resident in
Kuala Lumpur since 14th January 2011.
I do sincerely apologize if this mail will offend you but I have no
alternative than to make this enquiry. Till 18th December 2010, I was the
Chairman of my Local Government Council. The Federal Executive Council
allocated the sum of US$18.2 million to the council for the purchase of
Refuse Disposal Trucks and Service Parts.
Instead of transferring the funds to our commissioned agent in the United
States of America, I had to send the money through Diplomatic delivery
service to Malaysia. The money is deposited with a Deposit Finance House
here in Malaysia.
I left my job when I discovered that the government was after me. At the
moment, nobody knows my where about and what has happened to the money. I
am not willing to return to Ghana so soon.
I intended to invest the money here but it is not possible due to
Malaysian tough monetary regulatory policy and very high taxation. I have
details of the origin of the money in an approval issued by Ghanaian
Ministry of Finance. I will need your help to send the money out of
Malaysia. I will also want you to help me in investing the money in your
country.
I am willing to give you 30% of the total sum for your involvement.
Please reply this letter through the two email addresses stated above.
Thank you for giving me attention.
Greetings,
Mr. John Kutri.
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Anti-fraud resources:
