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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: Stephanie Adams <web.anythroste@yahoo.co.th>
Reply-To: Stephanie Adams <stephanie.adams86@yahoo.com.co>
Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2012 01:43:30 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Hermana Stephanie Adams.
Yo soy la hermana, Stephanie Adams. que sufre de cáncer de garganta y
estoy sufriendo amargamente, como yo os escribo este mensaje con la
ayuda de la hermana Felicia una enfermera en el hospital.
He
querido dar a este patrimonio que asciende a la suma de CINCO MILLONES
QUINIENTOS DOLARES ESTADOUNIDENSES (USD $ 5,5 millones) para la caridad.
Mi querido el problema que tengo es mi cáncer. De acuerdo con mi
médico. Mi condición es muy crítica y que no podría sobrevivir de la
misma. Por favor, estoy a la espera de oír de usted pronto. Por favor,
también me pusieron en oración para que Dios también bendiga a alguien
como tú que tienen fe en él.
Gracias.
Hermana Stephanie Adams.
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Anti-fraud resources:
