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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: "Mr.Herbert Smith" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <infodesk_careyolsen@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:00:34 +0100
Subject: Investment Proposal
Hello
I write to you based on a request by an investor and her need for
investment/funding in your country. My name is Herbert Smith, a civil lawyer/
consultant. I often represents the interests of very wealthy investors.
My client wishes to invest her financial estate in your Country. This requires a
private arrangement though the details of this transaction will be furnished to
you only if you indicate your interest in this proposal.
We have all the legal documentation to back up the transaction,besides we have
worked out the modalities to ensure a smooth and risk free transfer.
We are willing to offer you 15% of the total fund and additional 10% on return
on investment (ROI), the fund in question is quite large. All correspondences
will be via email for now. I am expecting to hear from you, if you are willing
to do the business with us do send your response to my private email address:
Thanks for reading through.
Yours Faithfully,
Mr.Herbert Smith
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Anti-fraud resources:
