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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:
- "million united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: <paulwilliams100@itelgua.com>
Reply-To: wilsondestiny_9@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:43:18 +0100
Subject: HELLO
>From Wilson destiny Bank Manager
Good Day Can you claim $10m(Ten million
united states dollars) that will be under your control in your
country? that belongs to our late customer who
died in an accident whose family is not traceable.
This amount will be
transferred to your personal account as soon as I
receive your reply
indicating your interest and ability to handle
this.Emailing me back
with your full details of whom you are.
I will let you know the full
details of this immediately you indicate
your interest and also the
necessary documents regarding the fund will
be forwarded to you
immediately.
Thank you.
Regards,
Wilson Destiny
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Anti-fraud resources: