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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:
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million 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: "Mr. Akinloye Oyewale" <mrakinoyewale@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrakinoyewale@outlook.com
Date: Sat, 4 Jul 2015 19:45:22 +0100
Subject: AWAIT FOR YOUR REPLY.
I am Mr. Akinloye Oyewale a banker ( UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA) here in
Burkina Faso,West Africa.I will like you to help me in receiving this fund
amount US$6 Million dollars into your Bank Account.Please Contact me with
your profile for more details.
Thanks and I await for your respond.
TRANSLATION:
Yo soy el señor Akinloye Oyewale un banquero (United Bank for Africa) aquÃ
en Burkina Faso, Ãfrica Occidental.
Me gustarÃa que me ayudes en recibir esta cantidad de fondos de US $ 6
millones de dólares en su cuenta bancaria.
Póngase en contacto conmigo con tu perfil para obtener más detalles.
Gracias y que esperan para su responden.
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Anti-fraud resources:
