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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:
- "hahmed@qq.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Hassan Ahmed" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <hahmed@qq.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2013 12:08:49 -0700
Subject: Your Kind Request Please!
Attn:
I am Hassan Ahmed a Sudanese national, I have an investment fund of US$22.5 million with a storage company in which I will disclose to you in your return mail.
This fund was deposited with the firm as personal effect; I want you to assist me in claiming the funds from the storage company for the investment purpose. You will be entitled to %15 for your assistance.
Kindly indicate your interest by a return mail to me through my personal email: hahmed@qq.com with the followings; your full name …..Age…. sex… telephone…. Occupation… Nationality….
Sincerely,
Hassan Ahmed
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Anti-fraud resources:
