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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:
- "diplomatic courier" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: contacto@agrovolcan.com
Reply-To: maviswanczyk1987@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 05 Jan 2021 18:41:48 +0100
Subject: =?utf-8?q?You_have_an_compensation__fund_of_=E2=82=AC_2=2C500=2C000=2E00?=
Hello Dear,
I am Mr.William. I write to bring you this notice that the International M=
onetary Funds (IMF) through my Bank had selected your email address among t=
he Scam victims listed to be Compensated. A total sum of =20AC 2,500.000.00=
( Two Million Five Hundred Thousand euro ) was Approved in your name to be=
delivered to you within 2 days by Cash through Diplomatic Courier Services=
. Therefore you are advised to contact us now for you can get your money =
Thanks,
Mr. William=20
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Anti-fraud resources:
