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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "lome togo" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Johnson Mark <johnsonmark228@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2013 14:48:22 +0100
Subject: Read and reply urgently,
Dear Friend,
Read and reply urgently,
My name is Mr Johnson Mark from lome Togo, i am contacting you for
the issue of your late cousin (Usd$3.5Million) unclaimed account whom
his bank has asked me to provide you as the relative for the claim of
the fund into your account.
kindly get back to me with the below informations to enable me submit
it to the bank to contact you immediately for the transferr of the
fund into your bank account.
Your Full Name
your Country
Your Age
Your Phone Number
Your private email is very important
Thanks as i hear from you.
Mr Johnson Mark , Esq.
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Anti-fraud resources:
