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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Compliments of the day my dear friend <uiwundu@gmail.com>
Reply-To: george.frank@bol.com.br
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2021 11:12:49 -0500
Subject: Your partnership is urgently required; please confirm the receipt of
this message for more details.
Compliments of the day my dear friend
From Mr Ume Iwundu
Your partnership is urgently required; please confirm the receipt of this
message for more details.
This message is official and personal and as such should be kept highly
confidential so I plead with you to kindly keep it as such.My name is Mr
Ume Iwundu' I have contacted you several times but have not heard from you
till now; Please let me know if your email is still valid.I have an urgent
financial joint investment business proposal for you,(1) Can I give you
this financial trust as a trustee/stake holder,which is definitely going to
be of mutual benefit to both of us. I have put in place all necessary
requirements concerning this joint investment business and it is my
intention to introduce this opportunity to you .
Upon your response including your direct cellphone number and contact
details I shall then provide you with more details and relevant information
,please confirm the receipt of this message for more details
Yours truly
Mr Ume Iwundu
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Anti-fraud resources:
