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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)
- "contact me immediately" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Turai Umaru Yar'Adua" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrsturai001ng@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:34:17 +0100
Subject: MUTUAL DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENT
Hello Dear,
My greetings. i am Mrs Turai Umaru Yar'Adua, the wife of late nigeria late president Umaru Yar'Adua.
In view of my urgent intention to go into Direct Foreign Investment (DFI), I am soliciting your humble attention to this matter as I will like to discuss the terms and conditions of the investment policies after receiving your acceptance.
I have in my disposal the sum of Twenty Five Million United States Dollars that I seek for your co-operation in securing and investing into a profitable ventures. I have confidence in your investment capability to withstand the value of this fund for the required period of time we are going to agree on.
PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER MY URGENT REQUEST.
Sincerely,
Mrs Turai Umaru Yar'Adua
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Anti-fraud resources:
