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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: Sandra Williams <sandrawilliams2030@yahoo.co.uk>
Reply-To: sandrawilliam2030@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:41:14 -0700
Subject: Urgent Reply
Good Day,
I am Sandra Williams, presently i am in Malaysia with my mother, we have consignment box that contain $6.5 million USD that is lying down here and we need your assistance to help us to clear out the fund as our foreign and also assistance to invest it in a profitable business in your country.
I and my mother have agreed to offer you 20% for your assistance and 10% for any expenses you will carry out during this transaction including your phone calls. We intend to invest wherever we finally reside and I believe you could be of useful assistance in area of investment. Expecting to hear from you soonest for more explanation.
Best Regards,
Sandra Williams.
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Anti-fraud resources:
