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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:
- "million dollars" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Anthony Williams <anthonywilliams.family@gmail.com>
Reply-To: anthonywilliamsfamily@yahoo.fr
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 11:37:27 +0100
Subject: Please help me
--
Dear Respectful ,
May peace be upon you.
I am Anthony Williams 25yrs old from Sierra Leone but presently
writing you from Rep of Ivory Coast where I have been taking refuge
after the brutal war and Murder of my parents by the rebels.
I know my message will come as a surprise to you, please do not
misunderstand me since we have never meet each other before.
I am begging you to accept me with an opening heart, it is the
situation I found myself into that made me to contact you for your
honest assistance.
My father including some top Government officials was attacked and
killed by the rebels during the war here.
Because of the war my father sold his Cocoa Farms and deposited this
3.5M dollars, under Agreement with the bank.
After my praying and fasting,God directed me to contact you for your
help to transfer this 3.5 Million dollars into your account for
investment project until I finish my education.
Please I need your help to transfer this money out from here before it
get into the hand of some corrupt government officials here.
I want to invest this money in your country under your Management and
control while I continue my education.
If you can help me, I would compensate you with a good percentage of
the money which is negotiable after the money has been successfully
transferred and confirmed in your account.
For more details reply immediately.
hope to read from you.
Anthony Williams
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Anti-fraud resources:
