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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Thomas" <contact@bowwin.com>
Reply-To: arcthomas2799@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2020 22:03:20 +0000
Subject: Hallo
Hallo,
How are you? My name is Thomas and I'm an Architect presently in Germany.
I understand this is not the appropriate way or platform for such form of =
introduction, but i am only taking the chance to see if i will be lucky to =
get a response from you.
I am widowed christian in search of true love. I'm looking for a new relat=
ionship. I want to meet a woman who is honest and sincere in wanting a seri=
ous relationship,someone kind and caring, with a good sense of humor.
I was widowed a few years ago and totally devastated by my loss. I am so t=
ired of feeling lost and lonely. I think it is time to move on find love ag=
ain.
Am sorry if i invaded your private space. Apologies. I would be glad to sh=
are more about myself with you and send you some of my pictures.
Enjoy your day and I look forward to hearing from you!
Thomas=20
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Anti-fraud resources:
