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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.james williams" <jameswilliams0150@gmail.com>
Reply-To: jameswilliams12@voila.fr
Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2012 16:29:40 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: urgent
Top Important
I am Mr James Williams, a staff of BANK BICIA-B here in Burkina Faso. I am very sorry about this sudden mail as I know it might come as a surprise banging into your private life especially when we have not met before. It was an urgent need for a foreign partner, which has pushed me to send you this proposal. I know we have not met before, but I am very optimistic that we might be able to establish the necessary trust needed to execute this project.
I just need your services in a confidential matter regarding (fund) in my bank.This requires a private arrangement.
You will receive these funds under legitimate arrangement that will protect both of us. All legal documents will be carefully worked out to ensure a risk free transfer. 50% of the total sum would be your own portion at the end of this deal.
The said sum is the profit / interest my branch realized during a period of 10 banking years. Further details will be sent to you as soon as possible.
So if you are willing to assist, please get back to me soonest.
Thanks as I expect to hear from you soon.
My dearest regards.
James Williams
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Anti-fraud resources:
