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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:
- "huge amount of money" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: lillian Thompson <missliltom@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 20:11:24 +0100
Subject: Greeting dear,
Greeting dear,
How are you doing? My name is Lillian Thompson, I am 19 years old
orphan girl from Republic of Cote D’ Ivoire, but now I am in Republic
of Togo because of the legacy I inherited from my late father. My
father lodged huge amount of money in a bank here amount involved is
sum of USD 2.7Million. I want you to assist me claim my inheritance
and transfer the money to your bank account. I have in mind to offer
you 15% of total money for your effort to make sure I claimed my
inheritance. Please if you are interesting reply me so that I can
detail you in full.
God bless you and your family.
Miss. Lillian Thompson
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Anti-fraud resources:
