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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Thomas Cross" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <thomasbakercross@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2024 12:58:13 -0000
Subject: Re
Hello Dear,
My name is Thomas Cross. I am representing the interests of a certain high political figure in the corridor of power in the Middle East. We are looking for overseas partners who can manage high-value funds for a period of 5-10 years. Preferably a company owner who wishes to expand his business for greater profitability or a viable business idea. He wants this to be done confidentially without jeopardizing his interest in him as a popular political figure in his country. Hence, I will be acting as his eyes and ears during the course of this transaction.
Please contact me if you are interested and I will explain the business to you in detail for you to better understand the transaction, I can assure you that this will be of mutual benefit to all and will be executed in a legal manner. You can reply to me on this email and I will send you a detailed explanation. Also,
Yours truly,
Thomas Cross.
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Anti-fraud resources:
