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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:
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned 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: Helen Davies <msheldav2@yahoo.com.ph>
Reply-To: mshelendavies@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2011 16:48:27 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Re-Contact
Re-Contact
Ms Helen Davies
Dear Sir,
Permit me to inform you of my desire to go into relationship with you. My name is Ms. Helen Davies. I am a widow and mother of a son. I am soliciting for your help to transfer the sum of 5.3Million Us Dollars which my husband deposited in the bank for investment overseas before they killed him due to political crises in the country which I know that you may be aware. Please I want you to help us and invest these funds into a profitable venture such as Real-Estate, Hotel or Agricultural business in your country. and also help us to get resident visa that will enable us stay in your country with out any problem.
You will be compensated for your effort in getting things done for us which will be discuss after you declare your interest in helping us as you will also serve as guardian of any investment which will be made with part of this money in your country. We are now in a guest house in Abidjan for our safety and I will like you to contact us for more information’s if you are interested to help us. We are hoping to hear from you urgently
Thanks
Ms Helen Davies
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Anti-fraud resources:
