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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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Julie Clifford" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <julycliff@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Aug 2015 04:39:42 +0100
Subject: My Bequest
Good Day, I hope my email meets you well. I am presently writting you from my sick Bed...I was earlier this Month diagnosed of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) and my Doctor has told me that I would not last for the next Two Months due to the damage this cancer has done to my Body. Having known my condition, I have decided to entrust my inheritance to you for the purpose of charity in order for you to build a motherless babies home in your country because i have no husband nor children. Due to my health condition, delay in your reply will not be of any benefit to me, I'm sure you are a honest person and you will act accordingly.
Regards
Julie Clifford
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This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
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Anti-fraud resources: