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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)
- "i am using this medium to " (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.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr.Andrew Kabore" <jling7671@gmail.com>
Reply-To: andrew-kabore@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2023 21:49:03 +0000
Subject: Mr.Andrew Kabore
Dear Friend
Greetings to you' i know It may look as a surprise to you that I am using
this medium to contact you for the first time.please Take your time to read
my message , I'm Mr.Andrew Kabore I need your assistance in an urgent
transaction with mutual benefit that requires maximum confidence and I
believe that you will not betray this trust that I have on you.
It is also my desire to notify you that this transaction is hitch free and
that you should not entertain any atom of fear and please you have to make
known to me now your stand in this proposal so that i will know my faith on
you, as this transaction means a lot to me so that i can send the details
of the business to you and i will be awaiting for your response this mail
soonest.
Yours faithfully,
Mr.Andrew Kabore
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Anti-fraud resources:
