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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- salami_gadafi@rambler.ru (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Salami Gadafi" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <salami_gadafi@rambler.ru>
Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:26:24 -0000
Subject: God Bless You
Hello,
I saw your email address written in a piece of paper in one of my late husband’s files (not sure if I got it right) but I presume you are either his friend or a business associate. My name is Salami Gaddafi, one of the unlisted wives of the late ruler of Libya. I am sure you know what NATO and their allies are doing to the Gaddafi family and assets after they killed him. I would like to know if you can be trusted and reliable with helping my son daughter and i secure and save one of my late husband’s undisclosed cash deposits in a bank in Ghana. My situation at the moment is miserable as I am hiding and sleeping in dungeons to avoid being seen or killed as they are still searching for anything related to the Gaddafi family. I will provide you with all the required documents to act as a trustee to the account granting you authority to transfer the funds to your desired bank account overseas and arrange for travel documents in new names to get us out of here to your country.
It is my intention to compensate you with 30% of the total money for your assistance and the balance would be invested in any profitable venture in your Country
Please, email me with your response ASAP (salami_gadafi@rambler.ru). and I will give you a number where you can reach us.
Thanks in Anticipation to your urgent response to this proposition.
Yours Sincerely
Salami
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Anti-fraud resources:
