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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "MRS. RITA MACHURA ANDREWS" <rola88110w@gmail.com>
Reply-To: michprimm01@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2021 16:57:37 +0800
Subject: URGENT MESSAGE
Dear friend,
Can I have a private chat with you? My name is Rita Machura. I am diagnosed
with cancer of the brain and presently Doctors have confirmed I have a few
weeks to live. My husband, who was a civil contractor, died in Turkey in
2015 of a severe heart condition. We do not have any children or trusted
close relatives. We have a joint trust fund with substantial cash value and
I solicit your assistance in receiving this money and using 80% of it to
build a child welfare home which was my husband's wish before he died. All
I need from you is 100% trust and honesty. 20% of the money is for your
personal use. I will give you full details as soon as I hear from you.
This is urgent.
With love from Rita
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Anti-fraud resources:
