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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- mrsjuliaheinz606@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs.Julia Heinz" <sales@sacacar.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:40:34 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Get back to me
Beloved;
I am Mrs.Julia Heinz from Turkey; my spirit led me to write you this email.I
write you with heavy tears in my eyes and great sorrow in my heart because my
Doctor informed me that I will die in 3 months time due to my complicated health
issues(Cancer).Based on this,I want to will my money(18.5 million USD) to
a faithful and God fearing person who will use it as I or my lawyer will
instruct hence I am contacting you.I want you to use the funds to raise a
business in
any area you have experience and expertise and to disburse 50% of the annual net
profit on charity causes,35% for expansion (or
diversification) while 15% will be kept by you as compensation for your labor.
The disbursements should be made to charities such as orphanages,
motherless babies homes and to humanitarian causes. I will wait to hear from you
if you can handle this task with honesty.
Waiting for your reply on my private email :(mrsjuliaheinz606@gmail.com)
Julia Heinz
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Anti-fraud resources:
