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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)
- "hundred thousand united states 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)
- ",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)
- "diplomatic agent" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist 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: Mr Philip Jones <samuelobi126@gmail.com>
Reply-To: johnstonfred14@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2022 02:09:28 +0100
Subject: Good-news
--
IâM Mr Philip Jones Your Diplomatic Agent From FedEx Courier Express
company, I Arrived At Los Angeleâs International Airport via British
airways flight no.BA592 from London UK Last Night. With Your
consignment Package Valued $90,500,000USD (NINETY FIVE Million, Five
Hundred thousand United states dollars) package reg #:X7311/64669. But
I Misplaced Your Address And Am Currently Stranded At International
Airport Now, I Want You To Call And Resend Me Your Full Information
To Avoid Wrong Delivery Such As Your?
NAME:...................
WhatsAPP NUMBER............
ADDRESS:...................
MOBILE NO.:...................
NAME OF YOUR NEAREST AIRPORT:............
A COPY OF YOUR IDENTIFICATION: ..........
YOUR POST OFFICE ADDRESS;...................
Please try your possible best and get back to me as soon as possible
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Anti-fraud resources: