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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)
- 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: "David Brown" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <david.brown@uconsultme.com>
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2020 11:26:07 -0400
Subject: July 1 2020
Dear Sir/Madam
I am David Brown, a Sierra Leonean based in UK and agent to numerous African and Arab business men desirous of investing their monies in a stable political and business environment.
I have been mandated also to source for a trustworthy and reliable person in a safe country for investment and I have also been given me the right to discuss terms of investment/partnership, duration and sharing ratio.
If you are willing to partner with us, kindly indicate by forwarding your contact information to me for further discussions and agreement.
I will require your full information to enable me to raise custody or investment agreement so that the funds will be made available to you.
This fund are currently deposited in a reputable Financial institution and once we agree on terms, we will arrange and handover the funds to you.
Please reply through my secured email as I count on your understanding and looking forward in working with you.
Best Regards
David Brown (Esq)
Investors Agent
UK.
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Anti-fraud resources:
