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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: Elizabeth <elizabethalfoza14_59@libero.it>
Reply-To: elizabethalfoza@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 01:58:38 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: From Elizabeth.
How are you doing today and how is life treating you over there with your family? by Gods grace i hope you are all having the best of the day and also life is faring greatly with you all over there,honestly i do believe you wouldn't be surprised receiving this message from a total stranger,though before i proceed,my name is Elizabeth and it is my earnestly desire to get acquainted with you and share something very vital with you,life they say is well lived with a full understanding of the meaning.please i would like if you could kindly get in touch with me so you could get to know me better and have more of my details.Thank you as i look forward to your prompt response.Have a blessed day over there and may the hand of God continue to rest upon you.
>From Sister,Elizabeth.
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Anti-fraud resources:
