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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: "s.m. bright" <quell_walters335@charter.net>
Reply-To: s.b_michelle@yahoo.fr
Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2015 09:14:51 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: re: reply
May God bless you as you read.
Receiving this message might sound to you as a surprise.I seek your
great assistance to realize a project for the benefit of the poor
orphans. Each day that passes by, I felt no improvement in my health as
I do not know whether I will survive having undergone several surgical
operations as a result of this incurable sickness (terminal cancer). The
only help I need from you at this point is to be in constant prayers
with me. I would be so much happy to see that my funds (€6,100,000) are
properly used to help the less privileged. This is a huge responsibility
to handle, but I do pray that God will give you strength to handle it.
You will also be highly compensated.
Suzanne Michelle Bright.
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Anti-fraud resources:
