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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "united state of america" (this email uses bad English)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- www.jerome.powell@hotmail.com (Hotmail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: contact contact <contactcontact88@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 2 Feb 2020 20:57:50 +0100
Subject: Re: Contract/Inheritance Payment............................................................
is to inform you that the International Fund Reconciliation Committee under
International Monetary Fund(IMF) has decided to release all
Contract/Inheritance funds to their beneficiaries this year 2020.We wish to
inform you that you will be receiving your fund through Federal Reserve
bank United State of America. We advise contact our payment officer with
the information.Name: Mr.Jerome PowellDirector of Federal Reserve
BankEmail:(www.jerome.powell@hotmail.com ) We thank you for your
anticipated corporation.Yours truly,Dr. Newman DavidWashington, DC: U.S.A*
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Anti-fraud resources:
