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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:
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a next of kin scam.
Fraud email example:
From: Michael <mdo791045@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrdokumichael@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2023 18:22:45 +0000
Subject: Please Respond Urgently
Hello,
I know that this mail will come to you as a surprise, but need not to
worry as I am contacting you for a business that will be of great
benefit for both of us. I need your urgent assistance in transferring
the sum of $11.3million to your private account. The money has been
here in our bank lying dormant for years now without anybody coming
for the claim.
I want to release the money to you as a relative to our deceased
customer, the account owner who unfortunately lost his life along with
his supposed Next Of Kin in a plane crash in October 2005. The banking
law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remains unclaimed
after 18 years, the money will be sent to the bank treasury as an
unclaimed fund.
By indicating your interest I will send you the full details on how
the business will be executed.
Best regards,
Michael Doku
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Anti-fraud resources:
