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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: AERAKIS NIKOS <aerakismar@yahoo.gr>
Reply-To: aerak1smar@yahoo.gr
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:45:03 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Very Urgent.....Aerakis Nikos
I really hope you get this on time. I didn't tell you about my trip to
visit a new researcher's complex in Spain, but unfortunately i was
robbed at the hotel where i lodged along with other folks. My phone was
also stolen and the hotel telephone lines were disconnected during the
incident. So I have access to only emails. Please I'm going to need some
sort of loan from you for me to relocate to another hotel close to the
embassy and also to get another flight ticket. Those thieves made away
with my credit card as well which is why this can't be resolved
instantly.
I have been to the Police and they directed me to the embassy but
they're not helping issues at all and my flight leaves tomorrow..Please,
Let me know if you can help me out?
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Aerakis
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Anti-fraud resources:
