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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:
- "hundred thousand 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)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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 orphan scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Shantan Kone <shantankone23@gmail.com>
Reply-To: skone6030@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2021 12:50:58 +0100
Subject: DEAREST BELOVED ONE
Hello,
I’m Miss. Shantan Kone. I am the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Kone.
My father was a very successful business man in Africa here. He owned an
oil and gas company and was also heavily invested in agriculture. My father
was poisoned at a table party organized by his business friends and he died
in a hospital after a brief illness,
which lasted only a few days. My mother died of breast cancer many years
ago when I was a little child. Before my father died in the hospital, he
told me that he had a fixed deposit of (US $ 7,500,000.00) seven million
five hundred thousand US dollars and he used my name as his only child in
the deposit documents. He explained to me that he was poisoned by his
business partners due to his success in the business and he advised me to
find a trustworthy person who would help me transfer this money abroad and
use it for investment projects, like real estate and hotels managements.
Please i need your assistance in the following ways:
(1) To provide bank account to which this money will be transferred
(2) To serve as an investment manager of this money since I am still a
student
(3) To arrange for me to come to your country and continue my studies
(4) To secure me a residence permit in your country
I am ready to offer you 30% of the total amount as compensation for your
help after successfully transferring the money to your bank account. Please
indicate your
options to support me as I believe this transaction will be completed
within seven (7) days. You indicate your interest to help me.
I await your soonest response.
Sincerely Yours
Miss. Shantan Kone.
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