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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:
- "million us dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Michael Finley <micfinly771@gmail.com>
Reply-To: micfinly777@mail2architect.com
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2015 01:29:35 +0300
Subject: FROM MICHAEL FINLEY
Good day,
I am Michael Finley. I represent the interest of an associate who is a
minister in the Syrian Government. As you probably know, there is a lot of
crisis going on currently in Syria and this minister is having problems
with the ruling party. He is currently being investigated in his ministry.
While he is sure that he has not done anything wrong as he secretly opposes
the decision of the Government to the use of weapons on the Syrian people,
there is also every reason for him to secure his family’s future in case
the unexpected happens. He has asked me to help him find a reputable
foreigner who can help him accommodate and invest $12.9 Million US Dollars
privately. Hence my reason for contacting you.
We need your help to accommodate and lodge the funds in the banking system
in your country. We will handle the logistics involved in the movement of
the funds to you. Please note that the entire business will be executed in
a legal way. My associate has promised to give you 15% of the total money
as compensation for your troubles. He would also like for you to help
invest the remaining 85% in a lucrative business in your country. You will
be paid 35% of any profits made from investing the remaining 85%. Due to
his position in the Syria cabinet, he wants this to be done discretely and
he would want to keep his identification confidential. I will be acting as
his representative during the course of this transaction.
If this proposal interests you, please kindly respond ASAP so we can go
through the details together.
Best Regards
Michael
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Anti-fraud resources:
