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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:
- "offshore account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Donation of $13.5 Million For The Less Privileged" <mrs.fatimaozturk@homemail.com>
Reply-To: eddji015@sapo.pt
Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2019 01:51:17 +0000
Subject: My Personal Email: mrs.fatimaozturk@homemail.com
May our Lord Almighty continue to bless you as you read my message to
you, please do get back to me for more details I have decided to
contribute the worth of $13.5 Million currently in my offshore account
in Europe to aid the less privileged around you because recently I was
diagnosed with kidney cancer and my condition is really deteriorating
Please do contact me for more information on how to proceed for
immediate application for the transfer of the funds in your name.Â
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Anti-fraud resources:
