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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:
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: Ahmed karim <abwao@superposta.com>
Reply-To: ahmmkarim@yahoo.fr
Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2012 13:45:33 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: CAREFULLY READ:VERY IMPORTANT:--
Hi,
I am Barrister Ahmed Karim, i have a client who has his fund in bank vault before his death on the plane crash with his family, He is from Lebanon.
I want to use my position to move the fund to your place as his personal lawyer now that he is late and no family to claim the fund because of the long overdue. The bank has asked me to provide a next of kin to clear the funds.
Before we proceed for the transfer, i want us to discuss and agree on the %.
You are just to stand as the next of kin to this fund and claim out the fund.
Best regard to you and your family.
Ahmed Karim
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Anti-fraud resources:
