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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Mariam Mohammed" <mohammedmariam231@gmail.com>
Reply-To: "Mrs. Mariam Mohammed" <mariammohammed231@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 23:21:46 +0900 (JST)
Subject: An Investment Proposal for You
Hello Dear!
How are you doing and your family? I hope you don't feel embarrassed by my approach towards you? I received your email contact from web business directory, and decided to contact you directly for the sake of business. I Am Mrs. Mariam Mohammed, originally from Congo. I Am looking for a reliable and experience business partner in Germany, i got information that Germany is good for investment.
I will need your assistance to invest in Germany under your guidance. So I am only soliciting for your assistance to invest as partners over there. If you are willing, please kindly give me your name and phone number for easy communication so that i will tell my son to call you and discuss with you on how to meet you in person thanks.
I will be waiting for your respond.
Best Regards.
Mariam
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Anti-fraud resources: