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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "M. Ahmed Garuba" <mr_ahmed.123@live.fr>
Reply-To: mr_ahmed123@sify.com
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 07:36:28 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: TREAT AS URGENT PLEASE!!!!!!!
P {
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UL {
MARGIN-TOP: 5px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5px
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OL {
MARGIN-TOP: 5px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5px
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TREAT AS URGENT PLEASE!!!!!!!
FROM THE DESK OF M. AHMED GARUBA
AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT.
BANK OF AFRICA (BOA)
OUAGADOUGOU - BURKINA FASO .
DEAR FRIEND,
I HOPED THAT YOU WILL NOT EXPOSE OR BETRAY THIS TRUST AND
CONFIDENT THAT I AM ABOUT TO IMPOSE ON YOU FOR THE MATUAL BENEFIT OF OUR
FAMILIES.
I GOT YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS FROM THE INTERNET WHEN I WAS
SEARCHING FOR A BUSINESS PARTNER.
I NEED YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE IN TRANSFERRING THE SUM OF
(USD10.5) MILLION TO YOUR ACCOUNT
WITHIN 10 TO 17 BANKING DAYS.
THIS MONEY HAS BEEN DORMANT FOR YEARS IN OUR BANK WITHOUT
ANY BODY CLAIMING THE FUND.
I WANT THE BANK TO RELEASE THE MONEY TO YOU AS THE NEXT
OF KIN TO OUR DECEASED CUSTOMER (THE OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT) BELONGS TO ONE OF OUR
FOREIGN CUSTOMER (MR. ANDREAS SCHRANNER) WHO DIED ALONGWITH HIS ENTIRE FAMILY ON
MONDAY 31st JULY 2000 PLANE CRASH.
IN SUBSEQUENT DISBURSEMENT OF THE MONEY, 45% OF THIS
MONEY WILL BE FOR YOU IN RESPECT OF THE PROVISION YOU MADE BY STANDING AS THE
NEXT OF KIN TO CLAIM THIS FUND WHY 55% WILL BE FOR ME. YOU AND I WILL TAKE CARE
OF THE EXPENSES THAT WILL COME UP DURRING THE TIME OF
TRANSFER.
I DON'T WANT THE MONEY TO GO INTO OUR BANK ACCOUNT AS AN
ABANDONED FUND. SO THIS IS THE REASON WHY I CONTACTED YOU SO THAT THE BANK CAN
RELEASE THE MONEY TO YOU AS THE NEXT OF KIN TO OUR THE DECEASED CUSTOMER.
I WILL GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS ABOUT THIS PROJECT WHEN I
HEAR FROM YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY. You can view
this site to know more.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm
1. NAME IN
FULL:.......................
2.
ADDRESS:..............................
3.
NATIONALITY:......................
4.
AGE:.....................................
5.
SEX........................................
6.
OCCUPATION:......................
7. MARITAL
STATUS:............
8.
PHONE..................................
9.
FAX:........................................
10 SCAN AND SEND A COPY OF YOUR IDENTITY
CARD To
ME.
N.B PLEASE I BEG YOU WITH THE NAME OF GOOD
ALLAH IF YOU CAN NOT FINISH THIS BUSINESS DO NOT CARE TO REPLY I DON'T WANT THIS
MONEY TO HANG ON THE WAY.
BEST REGARD,
M.AHMED GARUBA
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