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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.
- This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- elfranco4313@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
Fraud email example:
From: Manuel <maria.mejia@municipalidad-escuintla.gob.gt>
Reply-To: manuelfranco234@outlook.com
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2021 16:41:13 +0200
Subject: 2.800.000,00 euro
Jag heter Manuel Franco fr=E5n USA. Jag och min fru vill dela med dig av de=
h=E4r goda nyheterna. Jag vann Powerball-jackpotten p=E5 768 miljoner doll=
ar i april 2019. Vi best=E4mde oss f=F6r att donera till 5 slumpm=E4ssiga p=
ersoner p=E5 grund av detta koronavirus som d=F6dar m=E4nniskor s=E5 att du=
kan anv=E4nda det f=F6r att hj=E4lpa dina samh=E4llen n=E4r du f=E5r detta=
e-postmeddelande. D=E5 valdes din e-post fr=E5n en snurrboll. Jag har gett=
det mesta av min f=F6rm=F6genhet till ett antal v=E4lg=F6renhetsorganisati=
oner. Jag har frivilligt beslutat att donera ett belopp p=E5 2800000,00 eur=
o till dig. Som en av mina lyckliga 5 utvalda personer svarar du p=E5 det h=
=E4r e-postmeddelandet f=F6r mer information. Detta =E4r din donationskod: =
[MF4322019] Svara p=E5 det h=E4r e-postmeddelandet med donationskoden: manu=
elfranco4313@gmail.com Jag hoppas att du g=F6r din familj lycklig. H=E4lsni=
ngar Manuel Franco och familj
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Anti-fraud resources: