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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:
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Wood Forest National Bank" <BANK>
Reply-To: Woodforestnational.bank@accountant.com
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2023 11:41:43 -0700
Subject: Wood Forest National Bank.
Dear Customer,
The Wood Forest National Bank Texas controlling department has issued a security transfer CODE which is WFB/200/106/23, the Authentication section code of this bank concludes the verification of your file. After going through all the documents of claim received by this department with justification and verification from the global strategy United States we are completely satisfied and you have been confirmed. Your winning prize is Three Million Seven Hundred Thousand United States Dollars $3.700,000.
BELOW ARE THE APPROVED MEANS OF RECEIVING YOUR MONEY AND REQUIRED CHARGE RATES. You are to CHOOSE one of the OPTIONS Below and then proceed with payment at once.
(1) Bank to Bank Transfer:.........Charge Rate $150
(2) ATM Card Delivery:..........Charge Rate $100
(3) Cashier Check Delivery:......Charge Rate $125
Confirm the details below:
Full Name:
Your Address:
Occupation:
Date of Birth:
Telephone Number:
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve your banking needs.
Yours sincerely,
Mr.Steven Hill
Operation Manager
Wood-forest National Bank
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Anti-fraud resources:
