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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:
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Nabila Moha Hassan" <mrs.nabilamohahassan12@yahoo.com.my>
Reply-To: "Mrs. Nabila Moha Hassan" <mrsnabilamohahassan09@yahoo.com.my>
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 18:44:18 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Pls get back to me
My dear,
Greetings and how are you doing? May I apologize if this message will come to you as a surprise. Please I would love to receive your immediate response to enable me write back with details. I am Mrs. Nabila Moha Hassan from Libya. My intention of sending this message to you is that I want to relocate from my country and would like to find out if you can assist to invest my funds in your country? I need your response as I wait to hear from you soonest.
Thank you and remain blessed
Mrs. Nabila Moha Hassan
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Anti-fraud resources:
