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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:
- "search for a reliable person" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "might come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: "Amin Moussa" <adriaan@daklek.co.za>
Reply-To: amoussa906@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 03 Mar 2015 17:48:53 -0800
Subject: Business request
Greetings to you,
I am Barrister Amin Moussa. I request cooperation with you in the sphere of financing viable projects with prospective returns on investment (R.O.I) in your region.
I know that this email might come to you as a surprise, because we neither know each other nor has ever met. I got your contact details in my search for a reliable person to partner with me in this venture. My contacting you is purely for mutual reasons and because of the nature of your business, which is in line with my investment plans.
Details will be furnished to you, when you indicate your interest and we shall schedule for face to face meeting.
Please contact me urgently.
Yours Sincerely,
Amin Moussa.
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Anti-fraud resources:
