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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:
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Lesetja" <etjak3@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2021 13:59:08 -0800
Subject: CONFIDENCE
Dear Sir,
Good Day Sir, my name is Mr. Lesetja Kganyago. I know that this mail will
come to you as a surprise as we have never met before, I need your Urgent
assistance to transfer the sum of $ 2.9 two million nine hundred thousand
Dollars) to your Private account immediately. The money has been here in
our Bank lying dormant for years without anybody coming for the claim of
it. Waiting to hear from you to enable my further discussion with you in
confidence.
Best regards and wishes to you.
Mr. Lesetja
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Anti-fraud resources: