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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)
- "into your nominated bank account" (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)
- "to your nominated bank account" (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)
- "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Ann Patrc <info.hsbcswissoffshore@gmail.com>
Reply-To: anltshan770@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2022 07:59:52 +0300
Subject: PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL
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Dear Friend,
My name is Ann Patrc, working in the treasury and financial banking
department in a bank here in my country. I am writing to seek your
cooperation over a business transaction of (19 million Euro) belonging
to a deceased customer and I am the account holder. It's going to be
as smooth as a bank-to-bank wire transfer to your nominated bank
account anywhere you feel safer.
What it requires is your honest and sincere collaboration since it's
for the best of our interest. I intend to part 50/50 of this funds
once it's transferred into your nominated bank account. Also be
assured that maximum protection is guaranteed and do get back to me
for more details if interested and capable of being a trusted
associate, this is a very confidential transaction.
Best regards,
Ann Patrc
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Anti-fraud resources:
