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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:
- "charles soludo" (the name of a person or institution often appearing 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: Dr Helen Ubaku <asylvester@gosl.gov.lc>
Reply-To: Dr Helen Ubaku <drhelen113@skymail.mn>
Date: Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:48:18 -0400 (AST)
Subject: From Helen Ubaku respond immediately.
Attention.
I know that you might be surprise on this mail, but I am telling you the truth. I know that it is against my official duty to release confidential issue like this to an outsider but I have been much disturbed lately knowing all that you are passing through and being that you are a human being like me. I am taking this bold step because of my belief as a Christian and I have been encouraged by the world of God never to be afraid of those that can kill only the body but he who can destroy both the body and the soul (Christ Jesus).
What I want to tell you is about your fund with the Federal Government of Nigeria, there are lots of forces working against you right from the last CBN Governor Prof. Charles Soludo and the current Governor Dr.Lamido Sanusi.
Please I will proceed the details immediately I hear from you regards to work with me and for you to receive your fund, if you are interested get back to me immediately.
Regards,
Dr. (Mrs) Helen Ubaku.
KTT UNIT CBN.
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Anti-fraud resources:
