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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:
- "might come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million us 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: "Medina" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <medina.khaled@yandex.com>
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2016 22:22:11 -0700
Subject: Kindly response.
Dearest
This message might come to you as a surprise since we do not know each other and I'm writing you with heart full of tears and sorrow from my hiding place because am seriously wanted by the evil group ISIS that killed my father. My name is Miss. Medina Khaled , I am 18 years old Medical student in University of Syria, I am the only survived children of my father of a blessed memory by name Late Mr. Khaled al-Asaad the archaeologist whom was killed by Islamic State militants. You can read more about my father death in the BBC news below: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/18/isis-beheads-archaeologist-syria
My late father was beheaded by the ISIS group because he refused to reveal where valuable artifacts had been moved for safekeeping and the shocked death of my father leads to my mother death few weeks later. I am actually in search of an honest and reliable person who will help me relocate to his country for a better life because of what happened to my family and for ongoing war here in Syria, I have chosen to contact you after my prayers and I believe you will not betray me now that you know my life story. Two days later after my father's death my mother gave me the information for the secret deposit of an investment fund them made with a bank in Europe. The deposit value is US$6.5 Million US Dollars and I have contacted the bank to confirm the deposit and establish ownership, please I need your assistance urgently in moving this fund to your country for investment and also help me relocate to your country, when my inheritance is properly secured you will have 20% of the value for your assistance. I will ap
Miss Medina
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Anti-fraud resources:
