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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:
- "western union" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
- Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
Fraud email example:
From: "kojo kwame" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <kojokwame2k2@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 10:16:45 -0000
Subject: PLEASE CAN YOU HELP ME RECEIVE MY MONEY VIA WESTERN UNION
Hello
How are you and your family hope fine. l am Kojo Kwame from Congo Republic now in TOGO LOME I have (820,000.00) Eight hundred and twenty thousand DOLLARS in my position that i want to send to you in your country so that you can use the money to invest for me in any profitable business in your country. under your care, because I have lost some of my money through all those diplomat, so now i am sending you this money from Togo Lome western union with a powerful barrister that is helping all beneficiary to transfer their funds now from Togo Lome i want you now to send to me a receivers name so that we can start sending you the funds gradually .you can send five or eight names to my email now and I am waiting your response
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Anti-fraud resources:
