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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:
- "dear beloved," (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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: "Ms Gillian Bayford" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <gillianbayford@drivehq.com>
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 01:35:02 -0400
Subject: How are you?
Dear Beloved,
I am Gillian Bayford the wife of late Adrian Bayford . My Husband and I won the biggest Euro Millions lottery
prize of £148 Million GBP and before his demise he emphasized on our Charity Donation and we have given
out cash donations to assist various people around the world and we intend to give out a cash donation of
£7,500,000.00 GBP charity organizations from any part of the world but the ability is what i lack now
because my husband is late and i am down with cancer.
So after the death of my husband I have decided to find someone trustworthy that can help me share out the
fund to charity organization because I am down with esophageal cancer and i have been in the hospital
since then because the doctors told me I have just few more years to stay alive.Therefore I want someone I
can entrust with this fund and project.You should know that you will be compensated for your kindness and
handling of this project also.
View the below link to read more about me and my husband lucky jackpot win and our intention to help
others.http://news.sky.com/story/972395/148-6m-euromillions-jackpot-winners-named Will await your
response.
Gillian Bayford
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Anti-fraud resources:
