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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:
- "dearest one," (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "contact me immediately" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Betty Akissi <bettyakissi@gmail.hu>
Reply-To: bettyakissi1@gportal.hu
Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 23:53:27 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Hello
Dearest One,
My name is Miss Betty Akissi from Abidjan Ivory Coast and I am 18yrs.I
have an inheritance money in a bank here in Abidjan Cote D'Ivoire from
my Late father Mr. Robert Akissi,I need your assistance to get this
funds invested in your country due to the political situation here in
Ivory Coast. Please if you are ready to be my guardian get back to me
immediately for more details. Thanks for your cooperation and may God
bless you. If for any reason you will not be able to assist me on this
transaction please contact me immediately for me to look another person.
I am looking forward to see your urgent response.
Thanks Sincerely.
Yours,
Miss Betty Akissi.
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Anti-fraud resources:
