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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:
- "million pounds" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Lady Irina Gutavo" <mrsgutavo@live.ru>
Reply-To: mrsgutavo2009@live.ru
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:07:17 -0600
Subject: Proposal.
I am Mrs. Irina Gutavo a Russian Citizen and a cancer patient, just
recently my Doctor diagnosed that i have few days or
weeks to live due to cancer illness which i am suffering right now, as my
late husband was renowned for his philanthropicgrant, i hereby bequeath to
you with my £20 Million Pounds in a United Kingdom Bank to build a Gutavo
Foundation as my sole benefactor for charitable purpose.
Please get back to me so i can have my Lawyer/Solicitor contact you with
further instructions to receive this inheritance.
Sincerely.
Mrs Irina Gutavo.
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Anti-fraud resources:
