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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:
- "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: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: <naomiClay@pkuit.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:30:54 +0100
Subject: Hello Sir/Madam,
Hello Sir/Madam,
My name is Naomi Clay.
I am presently here in Kabul-Afghanistan on a special investigation mission for the United Nations on their present crises related matter. I will leave my duty and appointment here out of this project for our safety and security. I am in a desperate need of your urgent assistance. I have summed up courage to contact you towards assisting me on my quest.
I found your particulars (email) in an International email list directory from the Internet here and decided to contact you to assist me move a certain amount of United States Dollars to you in your country or any location of your choice. But I need to be assured that my share will be kept safe in your care until I complete my appointment here in Afghanistan. Contact us fore more details
Yours,
Naomi Clay.
Email: naomiClay@pkuit.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
