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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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Jim Silver <jimsilvery2k@att.net>
Reply-To: jimsilvery2k@aol.com
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:00:41 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Hello
Hello
I am Jim Silver, Manager in National Westminster Bank United Kingdom, I have 12.8 Million USD that I would like you to invest in Real Estate and Property Acquisition in your country. I want you to represent as my partner/investor to claim the fund and set up a project and assume responsibility of ownership as chairman but will be bringing in profit
monthly or annually.
I will provide you with reliable Proof of existence to the claim of these Fund which you will be given the right to verify directly with the safe deposit house were the funds is presently deposited. Bear in mind that the return on investment will be shared equally between both of us. As soon as you respond to this message I will instruct you how to proceed.
Your urgent response will be highly appreciated.
Best regards,
Jim Silver.
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Anti-fraud resources:
