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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: "Dr.Robert Kofi Rawlings." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <karleric15@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat, 9 Jul 2011 05:30:20 -0700
Subject: GOOD NEWS!
RE: Strictly Confidential
Good Day!!
I am the Former Group Managing Director of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. I have used my Good Office to acquire the sum of US$67million during my tenure as stated herein. The aforementioned Funds was concealed in Four Diplomatic Treasure Boxes and deposited with an Independent Security and Finance Company here in the Republic of Ghana.Neverteless, I would like you to stand as the Beneficiary of this Funds so as to have the funds claimed and wire transfer out of my Country without delay. This is because of my Country’s Financial Control on every Serving and Ex-Government Officials. Our sharing ratio should you wish to Partner with me is 40:60%.I will appreciate if you can send me your Private Telephone Numbers for discussion of this offer in more details.
Thank you and looking forward to a prosperous business relationship between us.
Yours Sincerely,
Dr.Robert Kofi Rawlings.
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Anti-fraud resources:
