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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:
- "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: Rose Desmond <m_dikko40@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: Rose Desmond <r_desmond2014@yahoo.fr>
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2014 08:52:37 +0900 (JST)
Subject: From Miss Rose Desmond.
>From Miss Rose Desmond.
Hello Dear,
Hope this mail meets you well, please permit me to introduce my self to you, I am Miss Rose Desmond the Daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Michael Desmond from Ivory Coast. Who was a famous cocoa merchant based here in Abidjan the Economic capital of Ivory Coast (Cote D'ivoire). I am seeking for your assistance to help me transfer the sum of $ (7,500, 000.00USD) that I inherited from my late father to your bank account.
I am willing to offer you 20% of the total fund as a mode of compensation after the transfer for your time and effort. All the necessary documents concerning this fund are intact. For more details concerning this fund and I will equally send you my photos so that you will see and know who I am.
Waiting for your cooperation.
Yours
Faithfully.
Rose Desmond.
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Anti-fraud resources:
