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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:
- "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "contact me immediately" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "high court" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Umaru Kabiru" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <umarukabiruoffice@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2017 20:58:06 -0700
Subject: I need your attention
HELLO
PLEASE CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE A WOMAN NAMED ESTHER CAME HERE TO CLAIM YOUR FUND. SHE BROUGHT DOCUMENT OF FUND OWNERSHIP WRITTEN IN YOUR NAME AS THE NEXT OF KIN FROM STATE HIGH COURT.
SHE SAID YOU SENT HER TO COME DOWN HERE FOR THE CLAIM OF YOUR FUND. PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE THIS MESSAGE AND GET BACK TO ME IMMEDIATELY. CAN WE RELEASE THE FUND TO HER? WE NEED YOUR APPROVAL TO PROCEED.
WE WAIT FOR YOUR URGENT REPLY
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Anti-fraud resources:
