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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)
- "huge sum of money" (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)
- "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- benkofi003@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr Ben Kofi" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <benkofi003@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2010 09:39:13 -0700
Subject: Willing To Help?
The Desk Of Mr Ben Kofi.
Auditing And Accounting Unit.
Foreign Remittance Dept.
African Development Bank (ADB)
Accra-Ghana.
Dear Friend?
I am Ben Kofi a citizen of Ghana working for the African Development Bank Accra-Ghana Branch. This is a Business proposition for your involving a huge sum of money (11.5M Us Dollars). I want to move the funds out of my Bank but am seeking for your help and cooperation,Please reply me back. Please keep this very confidential and forward to me in your response the following.contact me with My Private email address is [benkofi003@aol.com] Am awaiting to hear from you.
1. Full Name
2. Your Telephone Number and Fax Number
3. Your Contact Address.
Thank you in advance and may God bless you and your family.
Sincerely,
Mr.Ben Kofi.
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Anti-fraud resources:
