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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:
- "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: "PROFESSOR YEMI OSINBAJO" <golubev@kb99.com>
Reply-To: vicepresidentyemiosinbajo@presidencyng-gov.net
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 14:44:18 -0800
Subject: FROM THE DESK OF PROFESSOR YEMI OSINBAJO
FROM THE DESK OF PROFESSOR YEMI OSINBAJO
VICEPRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF
NIGERIA.
EMAIL.vicepresidentyemiosinbajo@presidencyng-gov.net
GOOD DAY
THIS IS THE VICE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA PROFESSOR YEMI OSINBAJO. I WAS
APPOINTED BY OUR PRESIDENT TO PAY ALL OUT STANDING PAYMENTS WHICH OUR
COUNTRY IS OWING TO MANY CONTRACTORS AND MANY OTHERS AND WHICH YOU ARE
AMONG. PLEASE I WILL WANT YOU TO GET BACK TO ME WITH YOUR FULL
INFORMATION'S SO THAT I CAN VERIFY AND KNOW IF YOU ARE REALLY THE
WRIGHT OWNER OF THIS CLAIM AND AFTER VERIFICATION YOUR MONEY WILL BE
RELEASE TO YOU WITHOUT HITCH
YOURS FAITHFULLY
PROFESSOR YEMI OSINBAJO
VP NIGERIA
EMAIL.vicepresidentyemiosinbajo@presidencyng-gov.net
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Anti-fraud resources: