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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million pounds" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "mrshumarradda@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Hauwa Umar Radda" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrshumarradda@outlook.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2014 22:43:48 +0300
Subject: My Dear
My Dear friend,
I'm so glad to receive your e-mail address after a very long search for a partner like you.
My name is Mrs. Hauwa Umar Radda former wife of Late Umaru Musa Yar'Adua the former president of Nigeria.
I need your attention to discuss with you, a matter that will be of great benefit to you and me.
I have discussed with my son and he approved that i contact you for this business.
My husband former husband deposited 15 Million Pounds in a security vault in India and my son is planning to invest this money in agriculture here in Nigeria.
But we do not need the present government or the first wife Family to know about this funds. Hence we decided to introduce you as a beneficiary to this claim and our partner in Farm development. You will receive this money in your position and transfer 85% of the fund directly to my Agric development trust account here in Nigeria after deducting your 15% percent.
Kindly give me your phone number so we can discuss this in detail.
EMAIL CONTACTS: mrshumarradda@outlook.com
regards,
Mrs. Hauwa Umar Radda.
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Anti-fraud resources:
