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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "search for a reliable person" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: "Barrister Adamu Abubakar" <barristeroffice@zing.vn>
Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 06:54:57 -0700
Subject: Requested
DEAR SIR/MADAM,
I AM SEARCHING FOR A RELIABLE PERSON TO BE A PARTNER TO MY
DISTINGUISHED CLIENT I JUST STUMBLED ON YOUR EMAIL AND THINK
IT WOULD INTEREST AND BENEFIT YOU IMMENSELY.MY CLIENT WANTS
TO INVEST IN YOUR COUNTRY AND HAVE JUST MANDATED ME TO
SEARCH FOR A RELIABLE PERSON TO REPRESENT HIS INTEREST.
I WOULD WANT YOUR OPINION ON THE KIND OF INVESTMENT THAT IS
LUCRATIVE IN YOUR COUNTRY AND HOW YOU WOULD HELP IN MOVING
AN AMOUNT RUNNING INTO MILLIONS OF $ INTO YOUR COUNTRY FOR
EASY COMMUNICATION PLEASE DO REPLY WITH YOUR TELEPHONE
NUMBERS. WITHOUT DIFFICULTIES.
I AWAIT YOUR REPLY, TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS
:(barristeroffice@zing.vn)
REGARDS,
Barrister Adamu Abubakar
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Anti-fraud resources:
