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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:
- "million dollars" (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)
- "hundred thousand us dollars" (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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Christabel Pius <mrs.dorisclayton@gmail.com>
Reply-To: christabel01p@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2023 01:20:51 +0000
Subject: =?UTF-8?B?UmU6IEdyZWV0aW5ncywgaXTigJlzIHVyZ2VudC4=?=
--
Greetings beloved,
I request your cooperation in my desire to find a foreign partner who will
assist me in the relocation and investment of a deceased customer’s
abandoned fund in the bank where I work. I was his personal Accountant
before his accidental death.
I want to express my understanding regarding your cautiousness if you
receive my business proposal to you, however, I want you to understand that
it is not everyone you meet online that is into illicit or bad activities
which I want you to trust me on this deal.
Furthermore, I would like to share this information with you in line with
this inheritance fund (USD $6.2 Million Dollars) Six Million Two Hundred
Thousand US Dollars. I am counting on your sense of confidentiality as it
is my desire that you keep this business transaction secret to yourself.
Therefore if you are interested kindly get back to me without further delay
for more details on how we could proceed.
DISCLAIMER:
This is not SPAM. You have received this email because you know it looks
safe, make a label for your inbox and mark it as not spam. This is not
phishing.
Thanks and Best regards,
Mrs. Christabel Pius
My private Phone number on WhatsApp +226-64-19-73-97.
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Anti-fraud resources:
