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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Lynn Melissa Kamal" (may be fake)
Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2008 12:38:53 -0700
Subject: Dear Beloved.....
I am Mrs. Lynn Melissa Kamal from U.S.A. I am married to Dr.Saleh Ahmad Kamal who worked with Chevron/Texaco in Egypt for twenty years before he died in the year 2005. We were married for twenty-seven years, he died during one of the riots in Middle East. He was held hostage and slain to death by protesting youths of the region in Basra Iraq.
I have very confidential issues to disclose with you as regards what my late husband left behind. Please get back to me soonest. Have a nice day!
Regards,
Mrs. L. M. Kamal
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Anti-fraud resources:
