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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:
- "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a "dying widow" scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Mrs Helen <barristerjohnson882@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrshelenfamily8@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2021 10:39:11 +0100
Subject: God Chosen
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Dearest in the Lord,
Greetings in the name of our lord Jesus Christ. I am writing this
mail to you with heavy tears In my eyes, Please be honest to me. My
name is Mrs. Helen, I am a dying woman who has decided to donate what
I have to the Charities. I was diagnosed for cancer about four years
ago, immediately after the death of my husband.
I have some funds which I inherited from my late husband, the sum of
USD $2 Million and I needed a very honest and God fearing person who
can receive this funds for Charity works.
Please if you would be able to use the funds for Charity works please
kindly let me know immediately. Please kindly respond quickly for
further details if you can handle this task.
Mrs. Helen
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Anti-fraud resources:
