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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:
- "consignment " (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: "Dr. Akin .W. Al-Mohammed." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <akinmoha@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2018 20:08:14 +0800
Subject: HELLO>
I am A.W. Al-Mohammed., a Retired Portfolio Manager with Bank of China (B.O.C ) Department of Investment.We have investment collateral as Consignment in Gold & (10.7M US Dollars ) for investment purposes within the Gulf states but was held back as a result of international market windfall due to the sanctions on Qatar.These consignment has been in escrow over few months unclaimed and all relevant papers are in my possession and I am willing to provide more details to secure a foreign partner to receive them and foster positive avenues for investment within the Gulf region.
Consequent upon the above, my proposal is that I would like you as a foreigner to stand in as the anonymous depositor with the security firm. It is a careful network to ensure a hitch-free operation as all modalities for you to stand on behalf conglomerate is 100% legal and will be offering you 20% of the total investment if you can be the investor and claim these deposits with the security firm as the anonymous depositor.If you are interested to be of assistance and can be trusted get back to me and I will send you the full details of the Deal.
Respectfully yours,
Dr. Akin .W. Al-Mohammed.
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Anti-fraud resources:
