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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:
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Birdggie William" <jesusdemarie0@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrsbirdggie@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2020 14:28:34 +0000
Subject: My Beloved One.
My Beloved One,
Greetings to you and your family. My name is Mrs. Birdggie William 58
years childless widow suffering from Esophageal Cancer, my husband
died after testing positive for the corona virus and recently my
doctor told me that I have a few months to live due to the critical
condition of my cancer illness. Having known my condition I decided to
donate my late husband funds worth US $7.5 Million to help the poor,
widows and orphanages which in return will bring blessing for my soul
when i die.
I took this decision because my relatives and friends have failed me
and plundered so much of my money since my illness. If you are
interested to receive this money to help the poor and widows, kindly
reply me back for more details.
Thanks and remain blessed with your family.
Sincerely yours,
 Mrs. Birdggie William
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Anti-fraud resources:
