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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: "JOHN BANNERMAN" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <johnbannerman902@1email.eu>
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2015 10:07:07 -0400
Subject: Business Development
RE: PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL:
To Whom It May Concern,
I am a Banker with one of the Leading Banks in the Republic of Ghana (West Africa). Here is my proposition for your consideration. The sum of US$56 million has been classified as Abandoned Funds by the Auditors of my Bank. This means that the said funds will be transferred to Government Treasury for State Inheritance if no claim is made after 60 days from the date of declaration.
I therefore invite you to partner with me to claim the aforesaid funds with a sharing ratio of 50/50.There is no risk attached and the claiming of the US$56million will be executed legally and professionally. The Funds claiming strategies and technicalities has been perfectly arranged, If you are interested, competent and reliable, Please get back to me for more details.
Yours Very Truly,
Mr. John Bannerman
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Anti-fraud resources:
