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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 american 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)
- "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a orphan scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Miss Cathy Ovie <cathyovie@gogo.mn>
Reply-To: Miss Cathy Ovie <g_ovie@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2014 19:58:46 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Miss Cathy Ovie
My dear friend,
Greeting to you and your family. I am Miss Cathy Ovie, 21 years old from Cote d'Ivoire and the only daughter of my late parents. I need your help to retrived the funds that my late Father left for me with a bank here in my country and to transfer the funds to your account in your country and help me relocate there to continue my education because our country is no longer safe for my continual living since the death of my father.
I want you to help me invest the money in your country as my guardian so I can continue my studies. The money is ($9 million - Nine Million American Dollars) I will give you 20% of the Total money for your help. I am waiting for your Urgent reply at my email: cathyovie1@outlook.com
Thanks and God bless you.
Yours Sincerely,
Miss Cathy Ovie
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Anti-fraud resources:
