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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: Abeer Ziyadah <nicol.michael75@gmail.com>
Reply-To: abeer.ziya@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2015 18:54:30 +0100
Subject: Hello Dear,
I am Mrs. Abeer Ziyadah, I am writing this mail to you with heavy
tears in my eyes and great sorrow in my heart because my Doctor told
me that I will die in less than two months time. Based on this
development I want to will my money which is deposited in a A Private
Security Company. I am in search of a reliable person who will assist
me to build charity organization for the saints under my name and I am
offering the person 30% of the total sum, while 70% of the money will
go to charity organization project in helping the orphans. I grew up
as an Orphan and I don't have anybody/family member to take care of my
wealth.
I will provide you with every necessary information once you indicate
your willingness.
Yours sincerely,
Abeer Ziyadah,
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Anti-fraud resources:
