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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 united states 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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Elizabeth Johnson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <wbmail@konin.lm.pl>
Date: Wed, 8 May 2013 19:23:09 -0400
Subject: BUSINESS ASSISTANCE FROM MRS. ELIZABETH.C
DEAR SIR,
I DECIDED TO CONTACT YOU BY EMAIL DUE TO THE URGENCY OF THIS BUSINESS. I AM MRS. ELIZABETH JOHNSON, THE CHIEF ACCOUNTANT OF THE NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION (NNPC). OUT OF THE CRUDE OIL WE SOLD LAST MONTH WE HAD EXCESS CRUDE OIL SALES TO THE SUM OF TWELVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS ($12MILLION) BECAUSE OF INCREASE IN THE PRICE OF CRUDE OIL AND I IMMEDIATELY DIVERTED THIS MONEY TO A FLOATING ESCROW ACCOUNT FOR MY PERSONAL USE AND I HAVE FINALLY AUDITED THE NNPC ACCOUNT AND THIS $12MILLION WAS NOT DISCOVERED SO, I WANT YOUR ASSISTANCE TO HELP ME RECEIVE THIS AMOUNT IN YOUR COUNTRY BECAUSE I CANNOT RECEIVE IT BY MYSELF BECAUSE AM A CIVIL SERVANT STILL WORKING WITH THE GOVERNMENT.
YOU WILL HAVE 40% OUT OF THIS SUM WHILE MY SHARE WILL BE 60%. I WILL APPLY FOR THIS MONEY TO BE PAID TO YOU IMMEDIATELY I HEAR FROM YOU. AM WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU SO THAT WE CAN PROCEED AND AM ASSURING YOU OF 100% RISK FREE OTHERWISE I WOULD NOT HAVE INVOLVE MYSELF. WE HAVE CRUDE OIL FOR SELL IF YOU CAN GET A SERIOUS BUYER AND WE WILL MAKE GOOD MONEY.
YOUR FRIEND,
MRS. ELIZABETH JOHNSON
CHIEF ACCOUNTANT
NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION.
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Anti-fraud resources:
