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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.
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Nelson Richards <nelsonrichards1111@yahoo.com.hk>
Reply-To: nelsonrichards_1111@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2010 09:31:14 +0300
Subject: Pls reply
My Friend
I am Mr. Nelson Richards. A solicitor to Mr. Andreas Schranner a German who
worked at Mount Resources Ltd, A geologist by profession who died in AF4590
crash since 2000 along side with his entire family.
The deceased had a deposit (GBP60.7Million) which I helped him to open in one
of the leading banks here in London two years before his death. Being his
Solicitor here, his Bank has issued me a notice to provide his next of kin or
beneficiary, otherwise the account would be CONFISCATED. My search for his
relative was not successful.
I seek your consent to present you as a relative/next-of-kin and
Beneficiary of
my client, so that the proceeds of this account could be paid to you
and we can
share the amount on a mutually agreed-upon Percentage .
All legal documents to back up your claim as my client's next-of-kin will be
provided This transaction will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that
will protect you from any breach of the law.
I will need the following information from you.
1) Your Full Name ------------------------- -------
2) Occupation: ----------------- --------------------
3) Position: ----------------------------------------
4) Your Address: ---------------------- -------------
5) Your Tel/Fax number: -----------------------
Please contact me at once to indicate your interest.
Best regards,
Mr. Nelson Richards
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Anti-fraud resources:
