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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)
- ",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 next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "Michael Stewart" <>
Reply-To: michaelstewart00012@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 06 Mar 2016 08:44:48 -0800
Subject: Sequel to your non response...
Dear Sir/Madam, Sequel to your non response of our previous message to you =
on behalf of the Trustees and Executors to the Will of our late client, we =
wish to notify you that you were listed as a beneficiary to the total sum o=
f =A314,500,000.00 GBP (Fourteen Million Five Hundred Thousand British Poun=
ds) in the Codicil to Last Will and Testament. We shall forward the necessa=
ry information and the documents in our possession to you and to get you ac=
quainted concerning this issue at the receipt of your mail acknowledging th=
is message and we humbly desire the Favor of your response Hope to hear fro=
m you soon. Regards, Attorney Michael Stewart
---
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Anti-fraud resources:
