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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 beloved," (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million us dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "god-fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs.Glenn" <rzoungrana8@gmail.com>
Reply-To: ezbtg22@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2021 14:01:45 -0700
Subject: From Glenn
Dear Beloved,
I am Mrs Elizabet Glenn from Israel. I am a missionary but right now
in a hospital bed in Israel. I am 59 years and childless; my husband
is dead. I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. And my doctor
predicted that I have very limited time to live due to damages in my
system and as a result of that I decided to give my 10.5 million US
dollars to a God-fearing one for the continuation of charitable work.
This is why I located you.My guess about you may not be accurate
because I came across your contact at the humanitarian calendar event
of the year but I believe in God who divinely directed me to you for
this solemn proposal of charitable work. I wholeheartedly wish to
bequeath my fortune to you as a God-fearing person for the
continuation of charitable work anywhere around the world.
I shall be going in for a surgery soonest and desire this money to be
transferred to you as I do not wish to leave this money in the bank
because bankers might misuse it for their own interest after my death.
As soon as I receive your quick reply assuring me that you will
utilize the money as I instructed you for the benefit of the less
privilege, I shall give you more details and also instruct my bank to
release the money to you for the charity project. I hope you receive
this mail in good health. Because I don't know what my situation will
be in the next minute, I am waiting for your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Glenn.
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