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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:
- "is highly 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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Helen Martins" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <henebb1@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2011 11:18:28 -0800
Subject: Looking forward for your positive response
Dear ,
I am Helen Martins.A CANCER patient now undergoing medical treatment in a Hospital in SAUDI ARABIA. What am about to tell you is highly confidential and it involves a Hugh sum of money that needs to be handle by someone with a good heart.My wish is that it gets to charity homes and to help the less privileged in your locations. If you are interested in sharing my dreams please contact me back for further information. Thanks you and may the Almighty bless you.
Looking forward for your positive response.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs.Helen Martins.
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Anti-fraud resources:
