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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:
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "confidential business" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "DHL Express "<dhl1@dhl.com>
Date: Fri, 08 May 2020 22:24:03 -0700
Subject: Original Shipment Document
Dear Customer, The shipment (s) Document attachment is expected to be del=
ivered to you. -------------------------------------------------------- =
AWB Number: 907853880911 =
Pickup Date: 2020-05-12 9:15am
Description: Original Shipment Document =
--------------------------------------------------------- DHL Express. Rega=
rds Thank you for shipping with DHL Express! CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: =
This message is from DHL and may contain confidential business information.=
It is intended to be solely for the individual to whom it is addressed. If=
you are not the intended recipient please contact the sender and delete th=
is message and any attachment from your system. Unauthorized publication, u=
se, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this E-Mail and its a=
ttachments is strictly prohibited.
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Anti-fraud resources:
