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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:
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "might come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Amanda Wilfried <wc299464@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Amanda Wilfried <amandawilfried@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2018 12:15:51 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Hi My Dear....
Hello dear,
My Name is Amanda Wilfred how are you? I hope you are fine and in perfect condition of health.Please I need your urgent attention concerning my intentions, This message might come to you as a surprise but right now this is my only option of communicating with you. I ask for your partnership and assistance in the investment of my inheritance funds, I decided to contact you for this partnership and assistance in the investment, which is based on trust.please if you don't mind i will like you to contact me for more details.
Best Regards
Amanda Wilfred
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Anti-fraud resources:
