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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: Mrs Medinat Abudu Malik Sherif <mrsmedinatabudumaliksherif@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Mrs Medinat Abudu Malik Sherif <mrsmedinatabudumaliksheriff@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 2015 23:24:31 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Dearest Trusted One,
Dearest Trusted One,
My Name is Mrs Medinat Abudu Malik Sheriff, a French national born July 19, 1949. I need a trust worthy person who can help me accomplish my wish on earth in humanitarian service with the funds that was left for me by my late husband in a financial institution before he was murdered.
My doctor has informed me that I have short period to live because I have been under medical supervision for over (3) months since I have a brain tumour. I do not have a child for my late husband who will inherit this fund if I don't survive the brain tumour. Please get back to me if you can give me your word of assurance to be trusted.
God Bless You.
Mrs Medinat Abudu Malik Sheriff.
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Anti-fraud resources:
