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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:
- "million us dollars" (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)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: Paul Robert <attprobert@law-mails.org> (may be fake)
Reply-To: p.robert@gmx.us
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2014 08:29:56 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: REPRESENTATIVE.
Good day,
I am Barrister Paul Robert and I represent the interest of my client who is a minister in the Syrian Government. As you probably know, there is a lot of crisis going on currently in Syria and my brother in-law is having problems with the ruling party and they are currently investigating his ministry. While he is sure that he has not done anything wrong as he publicly opposes the decision of the Government to use of weapons on our own people, there is also every reason for him to secure his family’s future in case the unexpected happens. He has asked me to help him find a reputable foreigner who can help him accommodate and invest $73.9 Million US Dollars privately. Hence my reason for contacting you.
We need your help to lodge the funds in the banking system in your country. We will handle the logistics involved in the movement of the funds to you. Please note that the entire business will be executed in a legal way. My client has promised to give you 10% of the total money as compensation for your troubles. He would also like for you to help invest the remaining 90% in a lucrative business in your country. You will be paid 35% of any profits made from investing the remaining 90%. Due to his position in the Syria cabinet, he wants this to be done discretely and he would want to keep his identification confidential. I will be acting as his eyes and ears during the course of this transaction.
If this proposal interests you, please kindly respond ASAP so we can go through the details together.
Regards,
Barrister Paul Robert.
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Anti-fraud resources:
