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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: Josan Nowak <mrsjosannowak@gmail.com>
Reply-To: josannowk2@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2021 03:27:09 -0700
Subject: Your Attention Is Needed In This Matter
Dear in Christ
I am Mrs. Josan Nowak, I am 75 years old and I am writing to inform
you of my intention to donate ($ 3.5 million) to charity in your
country. I married Mr.Wilson Nowak, who was a contractor for the
Government of our country and also worked in oil and gas, before he
died after a few days in the hospital. I have been suffering from
cancer. I want to know if I can trust you that you will use these
funds for charity / orphanage.
Please contact me for further details with your information as indicated below.
Your full name...................
Address.............................
Years..............................
Occupation........................
Country.............................
You are photos ......................
You are sister in christ
Mrs. Josan Nowak
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Anti-fraud resources:
