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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)
- "diplomatic courier" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Sgt Kennedy Joseph Brown" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sgtkennedyj@aol.com>
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 11:06:24 +0800
Subject: Lucrative Business Offer...
Good Day,
I hope my email meets you well. I am in need of your assistance. My name is Sgt Kennedy Joseph Brown, I am in the
Engineering military unit here in Ba'qubah in Iraq; we have about ten Million US dollars that we want to move
out of the country.
My partners and I need a reliable person, someone we can trust. It is oil money and legal. We are moving it
through diplomatic means, to send it to your house directly or a bank of your choice using diplomatic courier
service. The most important thing is that can we trust you? Once the funds get to you, you take your 25%
out and keep our own 75%.
Your own part of this deal is to find a safe place where the funds can be sent. Our own part is sending it to
you. If you are interested I will furnish you with more details. But the whole process is simple and we must
keep a low profile at all times.
I look forward to your reply and co-operation, and I thank you in advance.
Sincerely Yours
Sgt Kennedy Joseph Brown
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Anti-fraud resources:
