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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mrs Mercy Salify <mrsmercysalif@writeme.com>
Reply-To: mrsmercysalif@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2013 03:36:14 +0200
Subject: Cry for help!!!
I'm sorry to bother you with this. I'm currently in Burkina Faso due to some urgent matters
of my ill son, he was excruciating pain in the head and right hand, which may require surgical removal, and I become too sad because I am poor to take care of this situation with this I am literally crying because, I don't want my son to be like this.
The hospital management is demanding for a deposit of $1850 before they can carry out the
Surgery operation to save my son from this urgly situation. I need help for his sustenance and if you really want to help me raise all the money i will be more grateful but if you can not I'll appreciate whatever amount you can come up with. Hoping your reply.Attachment is the pictures of my son
I pray that God almighty will reward you in 100 foes
God bless you
Mrs Mercy Salif
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Anti-fraud resources:
