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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:
- "with your full names" (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: "Admin Staff" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <dmintafff@rediffmail.com>
Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 15:35:34 -0400
Subject: Re: Heir Hunters
Attn: Please,
I am writing you from the Heir Hunters Company in the United Kingdom, we are Heir Hunters detectives looking for distant relatives of people who have died without making a will.
United Kingdom government last year made over GBP80M from unclaimed estates. When people die intestate (without valid WILL) and with no known relatives, list of these unclaimed estates are published by the Treasury.
The race is now on for heir locators to track down the often distant relatives in line for a windfall. Often heir hunters pick more unusual names first, as they are easier to trace.
We came across your profile and email while searching through genealogy database, we will be glad if you can get back to us with your full names and address to see if it corresponds with the information we have in the genealogy database in order to carry out the necessary verification processes and to get your claim across to you without any delay.
Heir Hunters have handed over millions of funds to heirs who have no idea of their fortune. We will gladly answer any of your questions.
Very Truly Yours
Admin Staff.
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Anti-fraud resources:
