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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:
- "hundred thousand united states 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: Theresa Joseph <theresajoseph10@outlook.fr>
Reply-To: Theresa Joseph <theresajoseph10@yahoo.fr>
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2015 18:57:58 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Greetings to you my dear
Greetings to you my dear
I am Theresa Jopseph 20 years old. Please my dear I am here to establish a mutual relationship with you since I’m a lone in the world. I need a family to stay with and
have good education as well. My late father amassed great wealth but his sudden death made my life so miserable.
Please can you assist me to retrieve my late father’s deposit sum of (USD13.2M) Thirteen million two hundred thousand united states
dollars. He deposited this fund in a financial institution here in Cote d'Ivoire with my name as his next of King.
Please if you are interested in my business proposal, reply immediately for further
details regarding the fund. As soon as I receive your mail indicating your willingness to assist me in truth and honesty I will send to you the lodgement
documents of the fund for your perusal.
May God bless you as you respond to my cry for help.
Theresa Joseph
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Anti-fraud resources:
