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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:
- "your humble assistance" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mg Wilson <mgwills1@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Mg Wilson <ggarneey@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2015 21:36:36 +0900 (JST)
Subject: My Letter.
Dearest,
I am using this email to ask for your humble assistance. Kindly accept my apology for contacting you this way and bear with me if this is not acceptable to you. My name is Grace Wilson Garneey  22 years old, the only daughter of Late Mr. Matthew  Wilson Garneey  an international crude oil merchant.  I wish to request for your assistance in a financial transaction of transfer of my inheritance fund and I also wish to invest in good investment business in your country.
I have US$ 16.2million  to invest in your country. I will require your assistance in receiving my inheritance fund in your personal or company account for investment and also to enable me continue my education in your country to avoid the assassination of my late father’s relatives who wants to kill me by all cost in other to take control of my inheritance.
I look forward for your response for more details.
My best regards,
Miss Grace Wilson  Garneey.
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Anti-fraud resources:
