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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: Herbert Smith <egodinmaajibola@gmail.com>
Reply-To: infodesk_careyolsenlawfirm@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Thu, 21 May 2015 08:08:21 +0100
Subject: REPLY
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Hello,
I have a client that wishes to invest her financial estate in your country.
This requires a private arrangement though the details of this transaction
will be furnished to you only if you indicate your interest in this
proposal,We have all the legal documentation to back up
the transaction,besides we have worked out the modalities to ensure a
smooth and risk free transfer
I am expecting to hear from you, if you are willing to do the business
with us
Thank you
Herbert Smith
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Anti-fraud resources:
