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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:
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "barr." (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "P.O Williams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <henrybanko1970@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2020 09:46:00 -0800
Subject: Needed Investment Advice From You
Barr. P.O Williams.
Address: 33 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4JS.
This may not be the most ideal form of introduction since we have not had the privilege of meeting each other before now.
I am Barrister Patrick O. Williams a Solicitor at law base in UK.
I want to invest US$70.5M base on your advice in your country. Please get back to me with your residential or company address including your direct phone numbers if you are interested for further directive. Everything concerning the investment will be done legally, and you are not going to spend any of your personal money, all I need is your sincerity.
I await your response urgently since we don't have much time left.
Thanks and God bless you.
Barr. P.O Williams.
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Anti-fraud resources:
