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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found 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: "Ms. Elina S. Nault" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sarah_bin_rashid@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Jun 2014 17:14:46 -0400
Subject: From Ms. Elina S. Nault
Dear Friend
My Father left me $4.5M dollars as inheritance before his death Many years ago and instructed his lawyer to make sure i receive the money only if i get married and become responsible in life.
I will give you 25% of the total money for helping me then i will take 75% and invest my share in your country and you can be in charge of the investment if you wish.
Note: My late Fathers lawyer can only release my inheritance if i am married, so i want you to present yourself like my husband for now by contacting him then he will give us the procedure on how he will release the money to us in your account.
Please, help me because i have no money right now to take care of myself and my future and i don't want to do anything that is not right in the site of God.
Please, get back to me fast if you agree then we can proceed.
Honey, once we get the money i will come over then we can see each other and talk about getting married.
Yours,
Elina Nault .S
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Anti-fraud resources:
