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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:
- An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
- 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:
- "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- emmanuelsesay35@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr Emmanuel" <emmanuel@charityorganization.com>
Reply-To: emmanuelsesay35@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:06:22 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Emmanuel and Mother
MY DEAREST FRIEND
I AM IN A DESPERATE SITUATION WHICH I NEED YOUR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE NOW. I CAN NO LONGER HOLD BACK FOR FEAR OF PEOPLE NOT BEING HONEST WITH ME; I HAVE RESORTED TO TAKE MY FAITH IN MY OWN HANDS. MY LATE FATHER MADE HIS MONEY FROM CRUDE OIL MERCHANDISE, MY LATE FATHER DIED OF HEART ATTACK DUE TO HIS LAST VESSEL TRANSACTION WHICH WAS HI-JACKED BY SEA PIRATES, MY LATE FATHER COULD NOT PAY BACK THE HUGE SOME OF MONEY HE BORROWED FROM HIS BANK IN SIERRA-LEONE THAT\'S THE MAIN REASON WE HAD TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY.
MY LATE FATHER LEFT SOME OF HIS MONEY IN MY CARE WHICH HE LODGED IN A SECURITY COMPANY IN GHANA VALUED AT FOUR MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND(USD$4.7M MILLION). I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE TO RECEIVE THESE FUNDS IMMEDIATELY EVEN IF I HAVE TO SHARE IT ON A 70-30% BASIS WITH YOU. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A DESPERATE SITUATION THAT NEEDS YOUR ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE. PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR INTEREST. SEND YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER AND YOUR INTEREST, I HOPE I CAN TRUST YOU. I AM IN GHANA WHERE MY LATE FATHER DEPOSITED THE MONEY IN A SECURITY COMPANY. TRUST IS THE WATCHWORD FOR EVERY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP.
I AND MY MOTHER WOULD APPRECIATE A QUICK RESPONSE FROM YOU SO THAT WE CAN PROCEED ON HOW YOU WILL RECEIVE THESE FUNDS IN YOUR COUNTRY WITH YOUR HELP. YOU CAN CONTACT ME AND MY MOTHER VIA OUR EMAIL ADDRESS E-mail emmanuelsesay35@yahoo.com.hk) PLEASE WE ARE TRUST WORTHY FAMILY WE ARE NOT LIEING TO YOU ABOUT WHAT WE DON'T HAVE, MY INHERITANCE IS REAL AND WE CAN AS WELL AFFORD ALL PROVE YOU MAY NEED.
BEST REGARDS,
EMMANUEL SESAY AND MOTHER.
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