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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:
- "robert mugabe" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +27865663317 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
Fraud email example:
From: "Monica Mutanbara" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <monicamutanbara@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:18:05 +0100
Subject: Compliments of the Day
Compliments of the Day
I am wife of late Dr. (chief) Chuma Mutambara who was murdered last year bythe forces loyal to President Robert Mugabe due to their support in acquiringhis land and property during the crisis in Zimbabwe last year, which continuedand led to the lost of several lives of foreign (white)farmers.It is out of desperation that I am sending you this mail. My Son and I needyour assistance in fronting for us as owner of funds that belong to my latehusband which might come under investigation soon if the fund's ownership isnot changed soonest. As my Husband's finances are increasingly becoming the source of investigation by our detractors. The source of these fund's whichmy Husband earnings would not validate, will further sink him into the cesspooldug by our enemies.It is because of the dire strait we find
ourselves that we resolved to reachyou and ask for your assistance in this matter. We are averse to letting thosewe know here into this deal because we are no longer sure of whom our friendsare. You will be handsomely rewarded if you choose to help us partnership inthis project.I will be expecting to hear from you via my personal email account and willdisclose further details to you upon your response. It is equally important tostate here that considering the nature of this matter, we will required that itis handle most discreetly.Best Regards,
Chamapuwa Mutambara. (Mrs.).
+27 86 566 3317
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Anti-fraud resources:
