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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:
- "consignment " (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)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "united state of america" (this email uses bad English)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "johnmicheal.jm1@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: OFFICIAL MAIL <marcusbwhite89@gmail.com>
Reply-To: johnmicheal.jm1@outlook.com
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2021 21:52:31 +0100
Subject: BMW LOTTERY DEPARTMENT
--
This is to inform you that you have been selected for a prize of a
brand new BMW X6 and a cash in a consignment box worth $1,500,000.00
United State Dollars from international programs held on the last
section of last year 2020 in the UNITED STATE OF AMERICA.
Please make contact with John Micheal of Beverly Hills BMW to claim
your prize. And Send the below required Information to him for
verification.
Name in Full......
Current Residential Address.......
Nationality....
Age......
Occupation.....
Phone Number....
Contact John immediately through his email address
johnmicheal.jm1@outlook.com so he can get your prize to you.
Best Regards.
NOTE: If you received this message in your spam/junk folder, that is
because of the restrictions implemented by your Internet Service
Provider, you should try to treat it genuinely.
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Anti-fraud resources: