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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "million united states 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: "James Andrews" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <tny.kow2@onet.pl>
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2018 10:23:45 -0500
Subject: Investment Proposal
Attn: President/Ceo
Dear Sir/Madam ,
My name is Mr.James Andrews,Head Investment Management and I am facilitating for a private investor currently in the United Kingdom for investment . My client has clean and unambiguous funds to the tune of USD$300 Million United States Dollars to invest in a profitable long-term business in your country under your supervision and she is also interested in investing in the establishment of a Hotel and Real Estate with your directions .
I have however contacted you on trust to discuss your assistance and commission in this endeavor and to facilitate a rather more secured link with you, kindly get back to me for more details.
This project is ready for execution as soon as I hear from your and do note that i have contacted you in a private capacity.
I look forward to your swift response to this letter.
Sincerely Yours,
Mr.James Andrews
Head Investment Management
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Anti-fraud resources:
