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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:
- "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Andrew" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <akwamex@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2016 12:58:17 +0300
Subject: WRITE ME BACK
Attention: Beneficiary.
Do not be fearful about this email, Ghana police force found your email address while searching a computer that belongs to a man
apprehended at Kotoka International Airport, Accra Ghana. A large sum of Bank deposit file was found in his possession which
investigations proofs he and his international allies acquired through extortion from people like you.
Ghana intends returning what have been confiscated from the criminal back to his victims,for more information kindly confirm
your address and contact number. Endeavor to reply immediately as my office by order from the President is mandated to
ensure you receive your compensation of 7000000 from USA through a payment service that will be of no stress on your part.
Regards,
Barr.Andrew Daniel
Consulate Of Ghana
New York, USA.
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Anti-fraud resources:
