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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found 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: information office <knw196091@gmail.com>
Reply-To: information office <scfdpss1a@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 2015 21:48:53 +0900 (JST)
Subject: From the Desk of Mr. Oscar Williams.
>From the Desk of
Mr. Oscar Williams.
A Financial Consultant
Dear friend,
With due respect to your person. I am Mr. Oscar Williams, a financial consultant of Mrs. Simone Gbagbo the wife of the former president of Cote`D Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo. Actually Mrs. Gbagbo has the sum of Ten million five hundred thousand (USD10.5 million) under my care, to invest in real estate. The present government of Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) has impounded all assets and cash belonging to family of ex President Laurent Gbagbo and these funds is still safe because it was already moved to a separate and secured financial institution. During my last visit to her in prison, she advised that I make an arrangement to move the money out immediately and invest the money abroad which was why I contacted you.
I choose to contact a complete stranger for this transaction because so many people have betrayed them since they are no longer in power. I need someone who can be trusted because this is the only thing left for this family and for the future of their family, since all have lost. I need your urgent response so that I can give you more details to enable us move forward.
And finally as soon as you declare your interest by send to me your full information; I will immediately send to you the transfer procedures in details.(FILL THE FORM BELLOW AND SEND IT BACK TO ME).
1) Your Full Name:
2) Your Age:
3) Marital Status:
4) Your private Cell Phone Number:
5) Your Country:
6) Your Occupation:
7) Sex:
8) A copy of your passport or driving license:
I look forward to hearing from you soonest.
Thanks
Mr. Oscar Williams.
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Anti-fraud resources:
