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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:
- ",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)
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
- They don't notify winners by email.
- You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
- They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
- They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
- They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
- They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
- They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
Fraud email example:
From: Alex Kennedy <paulobinna44@gmail.com>
Reply-To: alexken4334@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2022 16:52:26 +0100
Subject: MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT LOTTERY
--
My Name Is Mr. Alex Kennedy. I Am From The United States MEGA
MILLIONS JACKPOT LOTTERY. I Am Writing To Officially Bring To Your
Notice That You Have
Been Awarded The Sum Of $2,500,000.Two Million Five Hundred Thousand
United States Dollar By The UNITED STATES MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT
LOTTERY.
This Award Was Selected Through Automated Internet System Drawn
Randomly Across The Globe, Where Your E-Mail Address Emerged As One Of
The Lucky Winner.
And For Your Information Dear Beneficiary, We Wish To Convey To You
That Every Other Necessary Arrangement For The Transmission Of Your
Payment Has Been
Completed Right Here In The Office, But I Will Not Hesitate To Inform
You That It Is Now Your Responsibility To Officially Settle For The
Validation
Administrative, Custom Stamp And Clearance Charges of Your Payment
File Which Will Cost You $500 Dollars Only In Order To Enhance A
Successful Transfer Of
Your Payment Without Any Obstruction(S) Along The Line.
So I Will kindly Advice You To Keep All Information Away From The
General Public As Case Of Double Claims Will Not Be Entertained. And
Also Note That This
Is Your REFERENCE NO:4825593 And You Are Advised To Keep It Away
From Any Individual .
NOTE: Any Award Not Claimed Within The Stipulated Time Will Be
Forfeited As Case Of Delay Will Not Be Entertained. So Kindly Go
Through This Mail And
Promptly Get Back To Me.
FILL THE BELOW FORMS AND IMMEDIATELY SEND BACK TO ME.
Full Name:........
Country:........
City:........
Address:.........
Gender:.......
Telephone cell mobile:....
Occupation:..........
Age:........
Proof of identification either
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Anti-fraud resources:
