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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:
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "donation_001@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: almoxarifado@cobremax.com.br
Reply-To: donation_001@outlook.com
Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2023 11:09:10 -0300
Subject: Re :This is your donation code: [FPC430342022]
Hello
Our names are Frances and Patrick Connolly From Northern Ireland. Me and my wife want to share this good news with you, we won a £115 million lottery jackpot on new year day. We have decided to donate to 5 random people because of this coronavirus difficult times, when you receive this email then your email was selected from a spin ball. I have distributed most of my assets to a number of charities and organizations. I have voluntarily decided to donate to you the amount of €2,000,000.00 as one of my lucky 5 people selected.
This is your donation code: [FPC430342022]
Reply to this email with the donation code:
donation_001@outlook.com
I hope to make you and your family happy.
Greetings
Frances and Patrick Connolly
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Anti-fraud resources:
