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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: David Moore <mrtoolsboxes@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrdavid_moore@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 5 May 2020 13:11:31 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: LET US SAVE AN ACCOUNT
Dear Sir/Madam,
Apologies for intruding into your privacy without prior notice. I am
Dr. David Moore working with Standard Chartered Bank Plc London UK, I got
your contact from an online business directory. I have a
Business/Investment Proposition that will be of great interest to you.
The main reason for contacting you is to propose a business that will
be of mutual benefit to both of us.
To get down to brass tacks, I need you to accommodate a large volume
of funds for investment into your industrial sector or any other
viable sector in your country. I am contacting you because a foreigner
without any prior link to our country is the best option. Get back to
me for details.
Best Regards,
Dr. David Moore.
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Anti-fraud resources:
