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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:
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mr Nabih Yusuf <info@charity.org>
Reply-To: bello_associates1@live.com
Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:50:42 +0800
Subject: Read and God Bless
Here writes Mr. Nabih Yusuf, suffering from cancerous ailment,I write this
email to you on my sick bed facing death. I am married to am English woman who is dead some years ago. Our life together as man and wife lasted for three decades without child until death took her away from me.my Doctor told me yesterday that i have limited days to live due to the cancerous problems and i have decided to use my fund in the bank for charity.I would like you to help me distribute the fund to the needy,orphans, destitute, the down-trodden society. reply to my lawyer whose name is Barr Bello Anderson ONLY IF INTERESTED.
Remain blessed.
Mr. Nabih Yusuf
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Anti-fraud resources:
