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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:
- "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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: Rosina Richard <marilobouabre13@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: Rosina Richard <rosinarich03@yahoo.fr>
Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 15:25:34 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Hello my dear,
Hello my dear,
I hope my message finds you in good health. Please let me firstly introduce myself to you. I am Miss Rosina Richard, the only daughter of late Mr. and Mrs. Johnson Richard who the general director of Adjame cocoa exportation company. Please I need your urgent assistance to transfer my inheritance funds amounting USD10.5M for investment project in your country while I continue my education because that is my priority for now.
Please if you are willing to assist me to retrieve this fund and carry out the investment project under your patronage kindly reply immediately for more details and guideline on how the transaction will be handled.
Yours Sincerely,
Rosina Richard.
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Anti-fraud resources:
