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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 Sibadu <sadi_siba77@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: Mrs Sibadu <sadi.siba@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2015 18:13:38 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Personal letter from Mrs Sadia
Compliments of the season,
I`m Mrs Sadia Sibadu,the wife of late Mr Francis Sibadu .My husband was assasinated alongside my two sons by terrorist so I had to flee to save my life.
I have a substantial amount I inherited from my Husband , which I intend investing in any lucrative business venture for the mutual benefits of both of us.
I am seeking for your kind assistance to transfer this funds to your country so that I can relocate and invest the funds in your country.
I will let you know the amount as soon as I receive your positive response regarding my investment plans.
My special regards to you and your family,
With trust and respect,
Mrs Sibadu
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Anti-fraud resources:
