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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 "dying merchant" scam.
Fraud email example:
From: "Luis Montes" <revluismontes@excite.com>
Reply-To: rev.luismontes@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2017 06:42:50 -0300
Subject: Hello
Hello,
Good day first let me apologize if this email does not suit your business
or personal ethics.I am Rev.Father.Luis Montes.A missionary priest of the
Institute of the Incarnate Word in the Community Christ the King in
Baghdad,the Iraqi capital.I have been diagnosed with Esophageal cancer and
I am currently undergoing treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, woolwich
UK.
It has defiled all forms of medical treatment and now I have a few months
to live that according to my doctor but I keep believing in God to survive
as the spirit of Almighty God directed me to contact you for important
charity work.I have US$11.1M deposited in a safe location in Asia, which I
want you to claim on my behalf for an important charitable project to
continue helping the less privileged in the society. Can you honestly do
this for me? Look forward to the possibility of hearing from you with your
detailed information.
Remain bless in the Lord.
Rev.Fr.Luis Montes
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Anti-fraud resources:
