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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:
- "million 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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mary Yucky <marygbrllyk@outlook.com>
Reply-To: Mary Yucky <m.yucky66@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 10 May 2017 20:25:25 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Peace
Shalom Dear,Â
I’m an aging widow suffering from cancer disease for a long period of time and my only son Kevin later died in a motor accident. I have $7.5 million US dollars I inherited from my late husband which he deposited in BANK OF AMERICA. Do to my deteriorating illness I have decided to donate the funds for humanitarian aid. If you will be of assistance to help me disburse the funds the ways I will instruct then please indicate your immediate readiness.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Mary Yucky
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Anti-fraud resources:
