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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:
- "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Aisha Muammar Al-Gaddafi" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <draishamuammaralgaddaif@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2013 17:14:26 -0500
Subject: I NEED YOUR HELP
I know you would be surprised to read from someone relatively unknown to you. My name is Aisha Muammar Al-Gaddafi the Libyan Goodwill Ambassador of the UN. and the daughter of Muammar Al-Gaddafi.Please i really need an urgent business deal with you. I have some fund deposited in a security company valued $25million Dollars and $22million Dollars which i want to invest with you because of the crises in Libya at the moment.
You do not have to be afraid of anything as no one else knows about these funds.
Please if you are interested to corporate with me for this deal so that you will stand as the beneficiary and received this fund on my behalf and invest it.
I will furnish you with all the required information concerning this fund at the security company as soon as you respond and agree to work with me on this matter.Please it is strictly confidential.
Thanks,
Best Regards,
Aisha Muammar Al-Gaddafi
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Anti-fraud resources:
