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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.
Fraud email example:
From: Ange Paul <gm05229604@gmail.com>
Reply-To: angepaul54@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2022 11:46:02 +0100
Subject: Hello Dear
I came across your email contact prior to a private search while in
need of your assistance, My name is Mrs. Ange Paul, I’m currently
hospitalized in a private hospital here in Spain my late husband
country as a result of brain cancer. My purpose of writing to you is
for a charity project with the fund my late husband left here in the
bank and he used my name as the next of kin. It is clear that I’m
approaching the last days of my life according to the doctor. I’m
offering a sum of four million seven hundred thousand dollars to any
trustworthy person/ organization that will invest the fund wisely into
profitable business ventures and donate part of the profit earned
annually to charity worldwide; I am helpless to do so as a result of
my health, I urge you to help me fulfill my last wish. As soon as I
receive your positive response, I will detail and also direct you on
what to do.
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Anti-fraud resources:
