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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: "Mr. Basil Owusu" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mr.basilowusu11@hotmail.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 22:06:51 -0700
Subject: GOLD OFFER.
DEAR SIR,
THANK YOU FOR READING MY MAIL
I AM WRITING TO SOLICIT YOUR INTERESTS ON OUR PRODUCTS.WE ARE LOOKING FOR REPRESENTATIVE TO ASSIST US MARKET OUR PRODUCTS IN ANY PARTS OF THE WORLD.
WE ARE THE REPRESENTATIVE TO LOCAL MINERS IN GHANA; WE HAVE AVAILABLE MORE THAN 100KGS OF ALLUVIAL GOLD DUST WHICH IS PRESENTLY IN OUR POSSESSION IN GHANA. RIGHT NOW, WE ARE LOOKING FOR A SERIOUS BUYER WHO WILL BE READY TO ENTER INTO A LONG TERM BUSINESS WITH US.
INTRODUCTION OF OFFER.
WE PRESENT TO YOU OUR OFFER AS FOLLOWS:
COMMODITY--------ALLUVIAL GOLD DUST
QUANTITY-------------ON DEMAND
QUALITY---------------22 KARAT PLUS
PRICE--------NEGOTIABLE.
WE ARE WILLING TO OFFER COMMISSION TO AGENTS ON NUMBER OF KILOS SOLD THROUGH HIM.
NOTE THAT THE GOODS ARE PAID ONLY AFTER SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY AND TEST CONFIRMATION AT THE REFINERY OF BUYERS CHOICE.
KINDLY INDICATE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO ENABLE US PRECEDE FURTHER.
THANK YOU FOR MAXIMUM COOPERATION.
REGARDS,
BASIL OWUSU
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Anti-fraud resources: