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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: Grace Adamson <inres@inres.coop.it>
Reply-To: <1006382nurse@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2017 13:18:38 +0700
Subject: How Can You Assist Us (HAPPY NEW YEAR)
Good Morning To You And Your Family,
I am an American Nurse from Cherry Hill, New Jersey posted to Sudan for humanitarian nursing assistance under the international red cross organization. Though, am a very busy person because of the casualty on ground initiated by the on going civil war among the Government and its people.
I want you to assist me receive a luggage containing medical records and money (US$3.6 million USD) this money was trusted to me by a middle aged woman who have her husband an engineer in the Sudan oil company killed in the on going civil war. You and I know I can not keep such an amount of money with me in this red cross camp so I will need you to get it and keep it safe for me because as soon as I complete my humanitarian service here by February, 2017 I shall be home along with this woman to a safer ground.
g me and my Sudanese widow (friend).
Details of delivery of the luggage shall be emailed to you when I am in receipt of your response to this urgent request.
Thanks,
Grace Adamson
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Anti-fraud resources:
