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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "i will like you to " (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: Felicia Avor <felicia_ali2000@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: felicia_avor4real@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2011 11:02:55 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Hello dear friend
Hello dear friend
It is nice and joyful to find your profile here.How
are you,i Saw your Email today when i was browsing in Google email I thought
is beautiful to make you a friend in this regard.My name is Felicia I am a
female. My friends tell me that I am a quiet person with a good sense
of humor.I am always fair, straightforward, honest and easy going and I
seek trust worthy friendship. I believe in giving and taking on both
sides and i value faithfulness.I like people for what they are and not
for what they are not.Please I want to be your friend, and let share
whatever we have in friendship,Find my profile; I will Like you to write
to my Email Address so that o will explain More about me:
Height: 174 cm 5' 7
Weight: 60 kg 148
lbs
Waist: 24"
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Marital Status: Single
Kids: No kids
Languages spoken: Fluent English
Return email to my id:
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Anti-fraud resources:
