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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)
- "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: "Mr. IMO Lukas" <noraijerepaul@gmail.com>
Reply-To: lukasimo@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2015 08:45:39 +0000
Subject: BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT PROPOSAL.
My dear Friend,
I am interested in establishing and operating a very viable business
as a means of investment abroad. I do not know too well on how this is
done in your country, so i will need you to help me in this regard.
My preference is any good profit yielding businesses and I would
appreciate any viable ideas you could come up with. I will also need
you to help me look for properties like homes and lands for sale as I
am proposing to invest the sum of Ten Million Four Hundred Thousand
United States Dollars ($10,400,000 US Dollars) for this. I do not know
if you can and will be of help to me.
Please I expect your good and prompt reply so that we can proceed
swiftly. I will need your phone numbers for easier communication with
you if I am unable to access my emails.
Best Regards,
Mr. IMO Lukas.
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Anti-fraud resources:
