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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)
- "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- susanteague420@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: "L Teague" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <susanteague420@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2023 17:44:52 -0800
Subject: Greeting to you from Susan
Dear Friend it will be a great surprise reading from me but consider this a divine Intervention from god almighty as my pastor explained to my understanding concerning my health situation. My name is Ms. Susan L Teague, a widow from Oregon USA and i am writing to you from my sick bed because I have been fighting with cancer and the doctors say I have only a few weeks left to live. I want to entrust my money of($8.5 million USD) to your care for charity purposes to help the less privileged as my late husband's relatives want me dead so that they will claim all of my late husband inheritance funds that I have worked for.
I will explain to you more about myself and what you need to do with the funds once you receive it. Please respond to me soon as my health is pretty bad and my doctor says i will be moved to the intensive care center anytime soon. Have a blessed day and please do pray for me. God bless you.
Be Blessed
Susan L Teague
E-mail - susanteague420@aol.com
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Anti-fraud resources:
