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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "contact me immediately" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- mrs.olgaheinrich@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "MRS. OLGA HEINRICH" <mrs.olgaheinrich16@att.net>
Reply-To: "MRS. OLGA HEINRICH" <mrs.olgaheinrich@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 02:19:20 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: GOOD DAY
GOOD DAY,
PLEASE READ THIS MAIL AND SEND ME AN EMAIL TO mrs.olgaheinrich@yahoo.com.
Please i hope you would not be embarassed by this.actually i am a german,
who got married to a nigerian man 9 years ago,that was in 2001. My husband
is someone that can be described as rich when he was alive.
See the website for details of his death
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/10/23/nigeria.plane/. My husband died in 2005.
He was well acquainted with business and thus had several companies which include
ABOMAR gas and oil limited ,andy best trransporting agencies as well as a large
palm plantation.infact upon my husbands death am estimation of his asset
was
$6.2MILLION.
Inaddition to the liquid cash which is about $12.5 million
in the
bank.please you have to know that consequent upon my husbands death,his
family members gathered and want to take all the financial
earnings despite the fact that our marriage was contracted under the
required statutory of the act which specifies that upon the
death
of the husband the wife shall inherit all the belongings of the deceased
husband.
Please ,i want you to help me so as to tranfer the raw cash
into an
account before the family members come up with whatever africanism ideas
the
have.please i urgently require your help.please contact me immediately.
i
strongly beleive i can bank on you.Please you can write me through
mrs.olgaheinrich@yahoo.com .
Please you can contact Mr. charles Marbury .
He is the head of foreign affairs of my bank .
i have informed him that i want to transfer the money away
from here .
If you require further information his number is
+234-8057427270.
Lots Of Love
I shall be waiting to hear from you .
PLEASE READ THIS MAIL AND SEND ME AN EMAIL TO mrs.olgaheinrich@yahoo.com
OLGA
mrs.olgaheinrich@yahoo.com
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