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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "liberia" (a location commonly mentioned 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: Mr Clement <agathaadamsfavordesire@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: Mr Clement <mrclement8@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 18:13:16 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Gold & Diamond Offer?
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are small scale mining company in Cote D'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Liberia West Africa with upgraded production through the introduction of modern technology and equipment. We are mandated to sell about 150kgs of 22+ carat of Alluvial Gold dust, 96.02% purity and up to 5000 carat of rough uncut diamond monthly from our village community with products ready for sale to prospective foreign buyers who can buy these products or if possible come in for a joint-venture for mining operation to increase our mining capacity in this case, and for a long term business partnership.
We are therefore looking out for buyers or facilitators interested in buying our goods or who might as well represent our interest in their country or other parts of the world. If you are interested in any of the above, kindly contact us through the email.
We look forward to a great working relationship.
Kind regards
Mr Clement.
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Anti-fraud resources:
