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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million united state 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)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "chief auditor" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "GLOIRA PHILIP" <gloria.philip@74mail.ru>
Date: Mon, 10 May 2010 18:46:58 +0000
Subject: Greetings
Greetings
It's Just my urgent need for a foreign partner that made
me to contact you for this transaction. I am a banker by
profession and currently holding the Post Of chief auditor
in charge of debt recovery in our Bank.
I have the opportunity to transfer an unclaimed funds (U.S
$22M) twenty two million united state dollars that where
deposited in our bank by one of our client who died in a
plane crash in 2006 with his entire family having no one
coming up to claim his funds meanwhile I was very fortune
to came across the deceased file when I was arranging the
old abandoned customers files in other to sign and submit
to the entire bank management for an official
re-documentation and audit of the year against 2009.
Be informed clearly that it was stated in our banking
rules and regulation which was signed lawfully that if
such fund remains unclaimed till the period of (5) years
started from the date when the beneficiary died, the money
will be transferred into the bank treasury as an unclaimed
fund.
As an honour and advantage bestowed to our foreign
customer base on the rules guiding our bank, it was stated
obviously that if you are not a citizen of this country,
you have the absolute authority to claim the fund despite
your differences from your country of origin of the
deceased.
So the request of you as a foreigner is necessary to apply
for the claim and transfer of the fund smoothly into your
reliable bank account as the next of kin to the deceased.
Hence, I am inviting you for a business deal where we can
facilitate to the transfer of this fund and have
promised 40 as your percentage once we are through, if
you agree to my business proposal.
Further details of the transfer will be forwarded to you
as soon as i receive your email
Gloria Philip
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Anti-fraud resources:
