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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found 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: MADAM ZINAB <madam.zinabhassan83@live.com>
Reply-To: zinabhassan197841@yahoo.com
Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 09:57:32 +0000
Subject: YOUR QUICK RESPONSE NEEDED TO SAVE SOULS
Dear Friend,
I hope my mail will find you and your family in good health. My
name is Zinab Hassan, I know it will be a big surprise for you to
receive my email because emails like these fly over the internet
telling people about funds and every other thing but,I want you to
take every word here as SERIOUS as ANYTHING.Please I beg you and I
swear to the Allah I worship that what I'm telling you is not a
scam.If you follow everything I will tell you in my letter,both of us
will be happy for the rest of our lives.
Dear I want you to stand claim of the assets deposited for my
children & I by my LATE husband before he died as it is going to
BENEFIT you & I immensely if only we are going to work with one
mind with BETRAYAL of TRUST.Treat as urgent my dear if this
strikes your mind....I await for your prompt reply..
Best Regard,
Madam Zinab
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Anti-fraud resources:
