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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: peter joe <joepeter103@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2016 10:17:27 +0000
Subject: Peter Joe
Dear friend,
I am Peter Joe Banker from Togo in West Africa. I have a fund in which I want you to help me receive in your bank account. The total amount is ($7.5million). The fund belongs to late client without a next of kin. I want to present you as the next of kin so that the fund will be transferred to your account. I cannot work alone without a foreigner who will act as my partner and beneficiary of the fund because of my work and position,I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect both of us, as it is 100% risk free for both parties.
With best regards
Peter Joe
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Anti-fraud resources:
