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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:
- "nigeria national petroleum corporation" (the name of a person or institution often appearing 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: REP <micahp100@gmail.com>
Reply-To: reviewpaymnt@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2018 01:17:12 +0100
Subject: How are you doing?
My Dear,
How are you doing? Hope you are doing great.
I and my collegues have a business proposal worth TWENTY million U.S
Dollars which we got from the over inflated contract from the crude oil
contract awarded to foreign contractor in the Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC). we are seeking your assistance and permission to remit
this amount into your bank account. Your commission is Thirty Percent of
the money.
Please notify me your acceptance to do this business urgently. The men
involved are men in the Government. More details will be sent to you by fax
or email as soon as we hear from you. For the purpose of communication in
this matter, may we have your telefax, telex and telephone numbers
including your private telephone number.
Contact me urgently and please treat as most confidential, Thank you for
your co-operation.
Yours Faithfully.
Akuna Cabrine
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Anti-fraud resources:
