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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)
- "million us dollars" (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: MR ALI MOHAMMED <alimohammed.mohammed8@gmail.com>
Reply-To: alimohammed.mohammed7@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 20:49:55 +0200
Subject: Assalamualekoum wr wb.
Assalamualekoum wr wb.
Dear friend,
I am Ali Mohamed,I work in the Audit/remittance department Group Bank of Africa Ouagadougou Burkina Faso.i have a business which will be beneficial to both of us.The amount of money involved is ($10.5 million us dollars) which i want to move out of my country to your bank account.All to my financial benefit and yours too,you shall present yourself as business associates to the depositor as details shall be.
I shall make available to you meterial and information with which a successful claim shall be placed on the fund.Please if you are willing to work with me to inherit the fund,kindly reply me for the deal and i hope my mail will meet your favorable consideration.However if you are really sure of your integrity towards this proposal reply and call me immediately.+22675668600
Thanks
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Anti-fraud resources:
