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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Alana Hamson <alanahmson@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2014 06:26:48 -0800
Subject: Hello
Hello,
Please read this letter carefully and tell me your mind.
I am Mrs. Alana Hamson. I am writing from Ivory Coast where my late husband
and I were invested before he died after a brief illness in 2010. I am
undergoing cancer treatment here in Abidjan.
Me and my late husband were happily married but unfortunately no children.
When my husband was alive he deposited the sum of $1,200,000.00 usd, with a
bank here.
My intention is to donate this money to you for the work of humanitarian
and charity services. I took this decision because my doctor told me that I
have only few months to live due to cancer problem. I have no child that
will inherit this money. I don't want to donate this money to any
organization here because there are some people around me that i don't want
them to know about this development.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Mrs. Alana Hamson.
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Anti-fraud resources:
