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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:
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Ablah Yusuf" <conference@silora.co.il>
Reply-To: ablahyusuf2@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2018 09:59:13 -0700
Subject: RE:REPLY ME
Assalamualaikum, My name is Ablah Yusuf, from Syria...i need your urgent assistance to move our fund worth $215m USD and help me and my two daughters relocate to your country out of Syria due to the recent bombing by president Trump and his intentions to bomb more,But my major concern is that we do not want be faced with the treatment of being treated as refugees or second class citizens which so many Syrian business people who traveled out without making right contacts or proper arrangements are faced with. Due to this fact, I sincerely seek for your assistance and partnership as our foreign partner who will direct and manage the affairs of our investments which we will partner with you in your home country. I look forward to hear from you as I will also need your assistance in helping us purchase a living house and as well get a good school where my children will continue with their educational career.please help us...
Yours Sincerely
Ablah Yusuf
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Anti-fraud resources:
