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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)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Tan Ruby" <tanruby200@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrstanr@qq.com
Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2016 21:04:05 +0100
Subject: Donation
Hello Dear,
How are you and your family i hope you all are in good health and
spirit i know this mail will come to you as a surprise simply because
we have never met before.
I came across your email while i was searching for a sincerer person
who will help me received my balance from the bank and use it for the
purpose of social work like building an orphanage home charity
organization churches above all helping the less privileged once in
your community.
I’m 79 years old woman and it’s my last wish to see that this money
goes to the less privileged once in your communities to give them a
better life,I look forward to hear from you for more details.
Best regards.
Ms Ruby
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Anti-fraud resources:
