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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: "IDRIS" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <johncollinsjh@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2016 04:43:38 -0800
Subject: INVESTMENT PROPOSAL
Hello,
My name is Cisse Abou Dominique,a deputy procurement assistant. I work as a
procurement assistant. I got your contact details in my search for a
reliable and neutral company or individual to partner with me and my
colleague,Engr Frank Kevin in the area of investment but I need your
assistance to manage an investment fund in profitable business in your
region. I know that this mail might come to you as surprise because we
neither know each other nor have ever met but accept it with an open
and positive mind. Details of the investment and funding will be
furnished to you when I receive your reply mail which will also
facilitate our face to face meeting.
Yours Sincerely,
Cisse Abou Dominique.
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Anti-fraud resources:
