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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:
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: John O.Williams. <sysadmin@shpdhoa.org>
Reply-To: <johnow614@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Dec 2020 15:13:45 +0100
Subject: OK..
Dear Beneficiary,
Following your pending fund for years and the delay you imposed in receiving it,We have called back your fund to this office as directed by the Finance Office and we will be paying you directly through the BANK OF AMERICA.(BOA) NEW YORK BRANCH AND ALL YOU NEED NOW IS TO RE-CONFIRM YOUR BANKING DETAILS FOR THE TRANSFER IMMEDIATELY WITHOUT ANY FURTHER DELAY. NOTE THAT WE WILL PAY ALL THE EXPENSES INVOLVED FOR YOU TO RECEIVE THIS FUND AND ALL WE NEED FROM YOU IS YOUR CO-OPERATION. Send your full details with Banking details to enable us commence the transfer process immediately through the BOA BANK IN NEW YORK,USA.
John o William.
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Anti-fraud resources:
