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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: Mrs Jane <annl10390c@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mbrons667@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:33:59 +0200
Subject: Good day
Hello! I'm Mrs Jane currently living and working in London, UK. I am
sending you this email because of the latest development at my bank
that I would like to share with you. This deal is valued at Four
Million Eight Hundred Thousand Pounds Sterling (£4.8 million) and is
100% genuine. After the transaction is completed, we split the money
equally. 50% for me and 50% for you. If you are interested in the deal
please contact me for more details.
Thanks
Best regards
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Anti-fraud resources: