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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:
- "million dollars" (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)
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Rima Christina" <christinamathewmrsrima@gmail.com>
Reply-To: "Mrs. Rima Christina" <rimachristinamathew@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2018 00:40:25 +0900 (JST)
Subject: I Trust My God
May Lord Be With You,
With warm heart I extend my greeting to you. I'm Mrs Rima Christina from Estonia, i'm 68 years old widow. I am writing this letter from my hospital bed here in Tallinn where i'm battling to
save my life from cancer
unfortunately i may not survive according to my doctors. I have an Inheritance fund valued at $2.5 million dollars which i inherited from my late husband who was Estonian Former Ambassador to Ivory Coast. The fund was lodged in a bank in Ivory Coast by
my late husband in 2010 before he left the country in 2010 during political war in Ivory Coast unfortunately he died one month later after his return from Africa. I want to donate this fund to you for charity
purposes. Therefore upon receipt of your response i shall give you further detail.
Awaiting to hear from you.
Remain Blessed In the Lord.
Mrs.
Rima Christina.
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Anti-fraud resources:
