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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.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Abdou.K. Karamoh" <hope17kone@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: abdoukaramoh@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:45:24 -0300
Subject: My Name is Abdou Karamoh
Good day and peace be with you,
I am Abdou Karamoh 19 years old boy from Sierra Leone,i am writing you from
refuge camp in republic of Cote d'Ivoire where i have been taking as
refuge after the brutal murder of my parents during the war crisis in
my country.
It is Because of the war my father sold half of his property and deposited the
total sum of US$9 million dollars in a finance firm here in Ivory
Coast.please i want to leave here,i am seeking for your urgent assistance to
help me transfer this funds out of here to your country for good
investment project so that i can relocate to your country to further my
education study for my good future.
Kindly reply me for more details about me.
Best regards.
Abdou Karamoh
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Anti-fraud resources:
