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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:
- "mrs.patricia@donaldwilliams.org" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs Patricia Williams" <postmaster@inoutiic.com>
Reply-To: mrs.patricia@donaldwilliams.org
Date: 29 Mar 2019 09:41:54 +0100
Subject: FYI: About My Previous Message!!_____From: Mrs. Patricia Williams'
Greetings Dearest Friend
Good day to you and your family. ..I believe you will be honest
to fulfill my final wish before I will die.
my name is Mrs. Patricia Williams, I am 78 years old dying woman,
I have a long fated blood sickness which I never knew about till
lately I was diagnosed of cancer of the blood(Leukemia) shortly
after the death of my beloved husband. From all indication my
condition is really deteriorating, and my doctors have
courageously advised me that I may not live beyond next two
months; this is because the cancer has reached a critical stage.
I have been touched to donate from what I have inherited from my
late husband for the good work rather than allow his relatives
to lavish my husband's hard earned fund when i die.
As I lay on my sick bed, I want you to help me in carrying out my
last wish on earth which will also be very profitable to you. I
want to WILL a total sum of $7.5 million USD the total money i
raise from the sales of my husband business, properties and bonds
to you which I want you to distribute part of it to any charity
home and orphanages (As instructed by my late husband as his
wish) and the rest for yourself and your family. I will inform
you on how to share all when i hear from you.
Please for further information or if you think you can grant me
our last wish, don't hesitate to contact me back as soon as
possible for more details
Awaits your positive reply soon and may God i serve bless you and
your family
Regards,
Mrs Patricia Williams
Private Email (mrs.patricia@donaldwilliams.org)
29/03/2019
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