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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: "MRS ALICE WALTON" <k880617@aliceproject.com>
Reply-To: mrsalicewalton001@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 10:31:59 -0500
Subject: RE
Good Day My Dear,
Please accept my apologies if this request does not meet your personal ethics as it is not intended to cause you any embarrassment in whatever form. I got your contact email address from the internet directory and decided to contact you for this transaction that is based on trust and your outstanding. I have an interesting business proposal for you that will be of immense benefit to you and the needy people around us. Although this may be hard for you to believe because i know that there is absolutely going to be a great doubt and distrust in your heart in respect of this email as this might sound strange to you and coupled with the fact that, so many individuals have taken possession of the Internet to facilitate their nefarious deeds, thereby making it extremely difficult for genuine and legitimate persons to get attention and recognition. Please reply if interested so i can give you more details regarding the project.
Mrs. Alice Walton.
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Anti-fraud resources:
