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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:
- "million us dollars" (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)
- "top secret" (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: "Engr. Abubakar L. Yar Xdua. (NNPC)" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <abubakarl.yardua@hotmail.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:33:11 -0700
Subject: I await you response immediately.
My Dear Good Friend.
My name is Engr. Abubakar L. Yar Ádua The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and I will like to share some highly personal classified information about one of my partner and our customer here in NNPC while I was working with him for some business transaction here in Nigeria which is confidential transaction between me and him and what I intend sharing with you now and believing that it will be of your desired interest one-way or the other. I have decided to seek a confidential co-operation with you in the execution of the deal described hereunder for the benefit of all parties and hope you will keep it as a top secret because of the nature of this transaction.
Mr. Hagopian Barkev was a United Nation Refugee Ambassador in New York State and he was a United States of American citizen and he was born in Middle East Amman-Jordan and doing his business internationally, but unfortunately he just died through accident on his way to Syria for some of business trip he told me about for me to stand here in NNPC on his behalf and make sure that $26 Million us dollars which NNPC has been owing him for our secret business transaction to be release to the bank account here in Nigeria which has been set up successfully for our secret transaction. So my dear I want you to assist me and receive this $26 Million us dollars as a partner to Mr. Hagopian Barkev in Europe or any country of your choice as I cant identified myself as a partner to Mr. Hagopian Barkev for security reason that is why I need your full support to have this fund release to your account as I will be feedin
I will send you detail of this transaction concern my partner once I hear from you. I will forward a copy of my identification and my partner Mr. Hagopian Barkev to you as we progress with this transaction so that we will have this fund transfer into your bank account which you will feed the bank to have the $26 Million us dollars been transferred into.
I await you response immediately.
Engr. Abubakar L. Yar Ádua
Group Managing Director (NNPC)
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