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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "might come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Kadi BALLA <mrskadiball@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2023 00:52:06 +0000
Subject: I need your assistance.
Greetings to you and your family, I know that this message might come to
you as a surprise please accept my apology because we don't know each other
nor have we ever met before but accept it with an open and positive mind. I
have a very important request that made me to contact you, I am former
Mrs.Balla, a widow from Ouagadougou, I' sending this brief letter to
solicit your partnership to transfer Seven million five hundred thousand
Dollars $7.5M, I shal send you more information and procedures when I
receive a positive response from you.
Best Regards
Mrs. Kadi BALLA
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Anti-fraud resources:
