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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: Mark commune <goodnightemmanuel1@gmail.com>
Reply-To: markcommune203@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2021 16:54:40 +0100
Subject: Your compensation Fund has been approved
Hello Dear Friend, how are you doing today? This is Mark commune director of
citizen's Bank New York City, I wrote to inform you that your fund worth
$6.5millions has been transferred to our bank today through Ahmad
Mohamed director of UBA bank Benin republic, please get back to me
right now with your full
details, so that to enable us finalize the process okay.
Here is the information we need from you
Your full name::::::::::::::::::
YOUR phone number:::::::::::::::
Your bank details:::::::::::::::
Your Email address::::::::::::::
Your home address::::::::::::::
And being informed that this required information is the only thing
holding your transaction
Thanks Mark commune
director of citizen's Bank New York City
Text only +1(518) 854-1258
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Anti-fraud resources: