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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:
- "your humble assistance" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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: "Flore Kawan" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <florekawan@mailbox.hu>
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2015 16:24:14 -0400
Subject: VERY IMPORTANT PERSONAL MESSAGE.
Hello dear respected,
Greetings to you and Happy new year to you and your family. My name is Mrs. Flore Kawan. I am from Sierra-Leone but I live in Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire here with my only child Kevin a 17 years old boy. I sent you this same letter some days ago, but I'm not sure you recieved it. I have being very sick since I came back from the village for my late husband's funeral and I have tried many medication but all to no avail.
I am contacting you because I have some funds US$7.5Million and I need your humble assistance to help me receive this money in your account in your country for investment and to use part for the well-being of the poor in your country or elsewhere in the world. You will also be required to help in taking care of my only son Kevin and help him to come over to your country to further his education.
If you are interested, please return back your reply to me immediately with your full name and address for more details. And be rest assured that I am going to compensate you with $1.2Million from this fund for your assistance.
Yours beloved sister and son,
Mrs. Flore Kawan and son Kevin
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Anti-fraud resources:
