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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "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.
Fraud email example:
From: Elise Sebastian <kohrogokabila003@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: Elise Sebastian <sebastianelise@ymail.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 02:06:01 +0900 (JST)
Subject: HUMANITARIAN CHARITY WORK
My Dear friend,
Greeting and peace be upon you as you read this message, I know this letter will come to you as a huge surprise, but I implore you to take the time to go through it carefully as the decision you'll make will go a long way to facilitate my peaceful repose and the manifestation of my last wishes and desires.
I am Mrs. Elise Sebastian an aging widow of 73 years old suffering from long time chronic organ failure resulting from terminal cancer which has left me paralyzed and bedridden for the past 3 years. I was married to late Dr. Muallem Sebastian and It is sad to say that he passed away in the Air France Flight 447 crash. My husband has an outstanding and unclaimed cash deposit to which i am the inheritor.Due to my condition and childless I decided to give the funds to less privileges around the world especially those who has become the victim of circumstance of one sickness or the other like (HIV AIDS, CANCER PATIENTS, KIDNEY PROBLEMS POOR CHILDREN ETC)
My present state of health does not permit me to take any direct action here and i do not wish to have the sweat of my late husband end up in the hands of undeserving government officials. I need a very honest and God fearing person who i can make the executor of my WILL and have this unclaimed funds deposit released so it could be used for charity works. MY GREATEST WISH IS TO GIVE THIS FUNDS SECURED AND USED FOR CHARITY WORKS.
I am in urgent need of your cooperation and I believe a divine force has led me to contact you for this noble task. This is my legitimate inheritance and NOT stolen money and there are no dangers involved as all is 100% RISK FREE with concrete legal proof. Please reply back if you would be able to cooperate with me as my legally appointed executor of my last Will and Testament and ensure my inheritance is put to good use of charity works.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Elise Sebastian
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