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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
Fraud email example:
From: Paul Lopez-Bravo <paullopexbravo@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: bravolpaul55@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 05 Mar 2018 17:16:20 +0100
Subject: Re:
--
Good day,
Permit me to make this very important request through this median due to
its confidential nature. My name is Mr. Paul Lopez-Bravo, a legal
practitioner in Spain. I represent Late Philip who was a wealthy
entrepreneur before his death in 2010. I am confiding in you in an
urgent matter that relates to a deposit made by this particular client
of mine before his death. I am seeking for your consent to authorize me
to present you as his heir to instruct his bank to remit the sum of
$12.5Million (Twelve Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) deposited in
a suspended bank account to you. His bank has issued a last ultimatum to
me as his lawyer to present his heir as the time permitted by law for
such claim has expired otherwise the fund will be confiscated.
The intended transaction will be executed under a legitimate manner that
will protect you and I from any breach of law. I will use my position as
the client attorney to guarantee the processing of the needed legal
documentations and successful execution of this transaction. All I
require is your understanding and honest cooperation for success. Note
that after the successful execution of the transaction, you will keep
40% of the total fund after all expenses.
I will give you comprehensive details if you confirm your interest.
I hope to hearing from you soonest.
Your Sincerely
Paul Lopez-Bravo Esq
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