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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: "Mr. Stephen Mensah" <stephmensah01@gmail.com>
Reply-To: stephenmensah03@naver.com
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2021 04:10:43 -0700
Subject: GOOD DAY MY FRIEND
*My name is Mr. Stephen Mensah I am the regional manager of the Financial
Institution Tema Accra Ghana, I got your information during my search
through the Internet.. I am searching for a reliable and experienced
business expert that can guide me in setting up a lucrative business
investment, so I decided to look for a tourism country or secure country
for this investment project. I write you this proposal in good faith. I
have a financial transaction that will benefit both of us. I await your
response to enable us to discuss this business investment.Please do not
hesitate to contact me for more information and other questions for further
explanation.Best RegardsMr. Stephen Mensah*
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Anti-fraud resources:
