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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)
- "high court" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "officef906@gmail.com" <najibubabibusani10@gmail.com>
Reply-To: officef906@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2023 21:52:30 +0100
Subject:
--
Congratulations my dear friend, you know that we have already
delaying too much about this funds, Thank God that everything has been
settled now OK. You will only pay $50 for the funeral high Court in
United Nations which is the only thing holding your funds to be
released since OK. I just find out yesterday night so now everything
has been settled with $50 you need to hurry up and send the fee now so
that you will receive your package immediately within an hour
OK.Respond is needed with your below information such as
your full name..........
your home address......
your phone number........
your country/city.....................
your email address.....................
thank you and we are waiting to hear from you as soon as you receive this mail
God done bless you with your family already
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Anti-fraud resources:
