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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: Denis Nabotha <jeff@spaldingshome.com>
Reply-To: denisnabotha@yahoo.cn
Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2013 07:10:27 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: WE NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE
Good day,
I must beg your understanding to this letter though the media has been grossly abused and people with genuine intention are no longer given a reception due to lack of trust and confident. I will appreciate your consideration to this letter since I am not able to meet you in person to discuss about it. I and my sister Sandra need your help. My late father was killed by some disgruntled elements in the mining industry to conceal diamond and gold stolen from the storage vault. I am writing this letter to you in absolute confidence to seek your assistance to transfer the sum of ($28,150,000.00) only to you for investment in your country on our behalf. I am making this request to you with hope you will compassionately help us to have a good future in your country with the deposit well invested.
I look for your reply for more details.
Best regard
Denis Nabotha
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Anti-fraud resources: