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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "abidjan" (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.
Fraud email example:
From: Koudou M Gbagbo <michel_private@live.com>
Date: Sat, 4 Jun 2011 03:48:21 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Hi
Hi
I would need your attention for a moment. My name is Koudou Michel Gbagbo, a legitimate son of President Laurent Gbagbo, I am from Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) West Africa, I would like to use your relationship with me to pull my wealth out from our country. My father lost the election to his rival and refused to step down from power resisting all international pressures and warnings which led our country to another civil war. I need advice and help because the current president and his administration is working to freeze
every bank account in our family last name including properties.
I promise you will not regret this relationship with me
Thank you
Koudou Michel Gbagbo
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Anti-fraud resources:
