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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)
- "urgent assistance" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.Herve Konate" <konateherve1@sify.com>
Reply-To: herve777konate@sify.com
Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:45:57 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Dear Friend,
Dear Friend,
I am Mr.Herve Konate,I am in charge ofauditing section in Banque Interna tionale Du Burkina (BIB), I needyour urgent assistance to transfer the sum of ($11.3 million toyour account. I shall send you full details on how the business transaction will beexecuted. You will gain 50% of the above mentionedamount if you agree to assist me execute this business. If you areinterested and capable to handle this business transaction, come upwith the information's shown below:-
1). your full name: 2). yourcontact cell phone number: 3). your age: 4). your sex: 5). youroccupations: 6). your country and city: As soon as possible all these information's is submitted to me immediately i will send you full details of this business.
Thanks.
Mr.Herve Konate.
Banque Internationale Du Burkina (BIB)
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Anti-fraud resources:
