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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:
- "top secret" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Halina Timta " <stellanadisa@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrshalinatimta@yahoo.fr
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 14:50:41 +0000
Subject: Urgent Attention Dear Sir Madam
Urgent Attention Dear Sir Madam
This is a letter full of tears as I am about to narrate my stories in
brief to you believing that you are going to hug this Letter with good
faith. Some members of the Boko Haram sect. on Friday ambushed three
emirs on the Biu-Azare-Garkida Road in Borno State Northern part of
Nigeria and as a result of the kidnap, my own husband Emir of Gwoza,
Alhaji Idrissa Timta was killed on the process.
The emirs were on their way to Gombe to attend the burial of the late
Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar, when they were attacked by the
terrorists. My late husband Timta who was born in 1942 were killed by
the group of Boko Haram on the 30th of May 2014 been Friday.
If you read this news below you will understand the story very well on
how my late husband was killed by the Boko-Haram groups. Please kindly
copy this Link
http://odili.net/news/source/2014/jun/1/819.html and paste it, read
it first before you continue reading my major reasons of contacting
you today from a nearby country Ivory Coast in the same West African
region where I and my only son excaped for our dear lives.
My late husband deposited a large sum of (GBP 7.000.000 POUNDS) in one
of the FINANCE FIRM in London before he was killed and the covering
document is with me presently as the next of Kin. I will need your
urgent help to quickly bring out this deposit so that we can invest it
under your name for investment in your country.
If you are interested and able to handle this project for me in all
honesty without any betrayal of trust that I shall repose on you then
contact me for more details.
Please note that this transaction is confidential and should be kept
in top secret until we have completed the transfer of fund to your
account in your country for investment.
Thanking You sincerely
Mrs. Halina Timta & only son.
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