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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 Anna Avakian <annaavakian56@gmail.com>
Reply-To: annaaka778@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2021 15:21:08 +0000
Subject: Hello Dear Friend, Good day and how are you
Hello Dear Friend,
I am writing this Letter in confidence believing that it is the will
of God to meet you since we have not met before. My Name is Mrs Anna
Avakian, I'm Armenian, i am 58 years old. Can you help the people of
God? I wish to establish a charity foundation to help the poor in your
country under your care.
This is my email address for more details or let me reach you with
your own email address
Thanks so Much
Mrs Anna Avakian
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Anti-fraud resources: