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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:
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "=?ISO-8859-1?Q?DR.=20PAUL=20OWEN?=" <rodolfo@temple.com.br>
Reply-To: drpaul27@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 9 Apr 2011 17:29:22 -0300
Subject: Dear Good Friend
From Dr Paul Owen
African Development Bank Republic Du Benin
Cotonou Benin Republic.
Dear Good Friend
It interests me to contact you after my investigations on your capability and sincerity.
I am Auditor General in African Development Bank Republic Du Benin On my routine inspection I discovered a dormant domiciliary account with the deposit of ($9.6Million USD}by late Mr Khalead without any hier. I write to seek your indulgence and assistance in moving this fund to your country through legal means.
Let me know if you can handle it so that we can discuss your own %.
I wait for your urgent response.
Regards,
Dr Paul Owen.
Auditor General
Private Line +229 97 64 58 89
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Anti-fraud resources:
