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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Vero Smith <vickybrandsylvester@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: Vero Smith <vero_smith1131@outlook.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2015 21:49:13 +0900 (JST)
Subject: GREETINGS
GREETINGS
My dear how are you doing !! I wish you would not be scared of my message as you don't know my face. Please, you should not be afraid of my communication with you I am Veronika Smith El Jamal from Kobane-Syria, a widow and mother of 2 kids my husband and my first daughter were slaughtered by the Iraqi Isis jihadists who were fighting in Syria to overthrow the Syrian President Assad.
I have a private and confidential matter I wish to explain to you if you would help me. I need a sincere person who will not abuse my trust in his person nor put me in tears. I am in possession on my late husband's funds of $6.3 million due to ongoing civil war here I would like a situation you can assist me to secure this funds outside Syria. I would like to give you more details if you can assist me with sincerity.
Looking forward on your response.
Thanks From Veronika
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Anti-fraud resources:
