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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: Johanna Abdiel <asalifaye@gmail.com>
Reply-To: johanaab01@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2020 00:21:33 -0700
Subject: Greetings from Mrs. Johanna Abdiel.
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Greetings from Mrs. Johanna Abdiel.
I sent this mail praying for it to reach you in good health, since I am in
a very critical health condition. I am Mrs. Johanna Abdiel, a widow
suffering from a long time illness. I have some funds I inherited from my
late husband, which I will need the help of a person like you to assist for
this desired project to advance the human race. My doctor recently told me
that I would not last due to the illness, having known my condition; I
decided to donate this fund for humanitarian aid and health care support to
the less privileged. I accept this decision because I do not have any child
who will inherit the money after me. Please I need your consent to know if
you will be available for this service.
I am waiting for your reply.
Thank you,
Mrs. Johanna Abdiel.
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Anti-fraud resources:
