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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Elizabeth Flannigan" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <lisaflannigan@supanet.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:23:06 +0800
Subject: Please Reply
Beloved,
My name is Elizabeth Flannigan.I was earlier this Month diagnosed of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) and my Doctor has told me that I would not last for the next Three Months due to damage this cancer has done to my Body.
I decided to contact you because I wish to entrust my funds to you to help in setting up a Charitable Orgainsation. If you are willing to help I shall furnish you further details about myself to you as soon as I hear from you.
Please send you response to this email address: lizflannigan@supanet.com
Thanks and God Bless.
Mrs. Elizabeth Flannigan
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Anti-fraud resources:
