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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million united states 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 next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Ronald Rick <ronaldrick1@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2015 22:16:14 -0400
Subject: business
Hello friend,
I want you to assist me on a business transaction that will benefit both of
us.I discovered an abandoned
sum of US$75 MILLION (SEVENTY FIVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS) in my
department that belongs to one of our deceased customer who died on 16th
November 2013
since his death nobody has indicated interest to come for the claim either
from his family or relatives
I personally kept this information secret within myself because the bank
can release the fund to any foreigner who can stand
as the next of kin to our late customer
if you are willing to work with me on this business please do reply so i
can guard you on how
we can claim the fund successfully
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Anti-fraud resources:
