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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:
- "your humble assistance" (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: saima <saimamurunga1@voila.fr>
Reply-To: saima <saimamurunga@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Tue, 27 May 2014 12:09:29 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Letter from Miss. Saima Robert Murung
Letter from Miss. Saima Robert Murung
Dear,
It is my pleasure
to contact you for a business venture
which my late father intend to establish in your country before his
death. Though I have not met with
you before but I believe one has to risk confidence to succeed sometimes
in life. My name is Miss. Saima Robert Murung. I am an adopted next of
kin of late Mr. Robert Murung a contractor dealer, who is now late.
I
don't no how you may feel with this message but i ask you to accept it
in a good heart.There is
this huge amount of Ten Million Five Hundred Thousands U.S dollar
($10.500.000.00) which my late father deposited in a finance institution
for foreign investment before his death and I did not want the family
of
my father to know about it according to his will, He told me that this
money is to build a
hospital for me as soon as I finished my education because his plan is
for me to be a doctor, this money is just lying in the bank where he
deposited it for years now.
Now, I have decided to invest this
money in your country or anywhere safe enough for security and
political reasons. I have suffered a lot of set backs as a result of
incessant political crisis here. The death of my father
actually brought sorrow to my life. I am in a sincere desire of your
humble assistance in this regards. Your suggestions and ideas will be
highly regarded. If you assist me I will be pleased to offer to you 20%
of the total fund after the transfer of the money to you. I await your soonest response.
Respectfully yours,
Miss. Saima Robert Murung
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