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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)
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found 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: "Fabrice Atoh" (may be fake)
Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2014 13:46:45 -0700
Subject: I will be expecting to hear from you
Dear Friend,
I know that this email will come to you as a surprise and I hope that you will not expose or betray this
trust and confident that I’m about to repose on you for mutual benefits of our families.
I am Fabrice Atoh and am here with my wife and three children.
All i need from you simple, i need your bank account to receive my money. I did not need any thing from
you neither do i need your money, just hear me out.
I will explain in details to you when i receive your reply.
Please note that this is not a scam since i am aware of what is going on internet because i myself
sometimes receive this kind of message, but please, hear me out and you are free to decide if you will
partner me or not.
Give me chance to let me explain myself.
I will be expecting to hear from you.
Thanks.
Fabrice Attoh.
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Anti-fraud resources:
