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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:
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Grant Williams <mail.adragency@gmail.com>
Reply-To: grant.williams229@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2023 18:20:17 +0100
Subject: =?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=8BI_am_looking_forward_to_hearing_from_you=2E?=
I would like to apprise you that your United Nations Scam Victims
Compensation fund transfer has been approved and rescheduled to be released
through a Bank in Canada.
In this light, I wish to also inform you that this transaction will cost
you no troubles or expenditures because a fiduciary agent has been hired to
stand as a trustee between you and the bank during the course of this
transaction. The main reason why the fiduciary agent is hired is to secure
and retrieve your fund payment without spending a dime from your pocket.
The fiduciary agent service charge which cannot be more than US$100,000
will be paid to him once you receive and confirm your payment into your
bank account.
DO LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH THE FIDUCIARY AGENT SO THAT
I CAN EMAIL HIS CONTACTS TO YOU.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours Truly,
Grant Williams.
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Anti-fraud resources:
