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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found 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: Ahmed Sani <asahmedsani4@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:39:46 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: URGENT RESPONSE NEEDED.
Dear Friend,
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL :
I know you will be surprise reading this letter, but I beg you, This is
not one of those scam messages on the internet, I need your help and i
am willing to do anything for it. I will tell you more of this if you are
willing to help me.
Thanks
Yours faithfully.
Dr Ahmed Sani.
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Anti-fraud resources:
