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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 message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs Elizabeth Wong" (may be fake)
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2012 03:38:19 +1000
Subject: Concerning Charity.
Beloved one,
Greetings to you and your family. My name is Mrs Elizabeth Wong .I have been
Diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer which was discovered very late. I was
Married to Engr peter Wong before he died on 5th of July 2009 in a ghastly
Motor accident alongside my son and daughter. My husband deposited some funds to
the tune of US$6.5M with a Security Firm in London. Now that my Doctor made it clear
to me that I would not last long due to my health that has resulted to stroke and my inability to
talk; I do not think that this Money is useful to me anymore. I have had several visitations in
my sleep by Angel Gabriel and he has asked me to use this money for charity purposes and that I
have decided to do. These funds will be used for charity purpose which involves the building of orphanages etc.
This project I cannot carry out because of my condition so I want you to
Reply to this mail if you know that God leaves in your heart, you are
Truthful and will carry out this project even if I am not there to
Supervise you. Please, I have reposed my confidence in you and hope you will
not disappoint me. I look forward to your urgent response.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Elizabeth.
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Anti-fraud resources:
