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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
Fraud email example:
From: "BANK OF CHINA" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <zhou_x@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2022 10:25:06 -0700
Subject: PARTNERSHIP -OFFER
ZHOU XIN
Level 17, 99 Bishopsgate,
London EC2M 3XD,U.K
Phone: +447706245044
Good Day,
ZHOU XIN is my name with Bank of China
I want to partner with you to transfer funds into
your account for investment.
Please state your direct phone number and full names in your
reply so that we can discuss benefits and process.
I have attached my passport scan copy.
I await your reply on your willingness to partner with me.
Yours sincerely
ZHOU XIN
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Anti-fraud resources:
