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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 beloved," (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: money@mail.com
Reply-To: alexwu8971@outlook.com
Date: 05 Apr 2022 06:41:36 +0800
Subject: Re: Can I Trust You? If Yes Please Reply Immediately. Thank You.
Please Contact: Dr. Alex Wu by Email: alexwu1101@outlook.com
Dear Beloved,
I am dying of COLON CANCER with short notice of life as stated
by my doctor. I have assignment for you to manage the sum of
$5.5M USD and give a huge part of the fund to orphanages of your
choice. I know you may ask why I'm not giving the money to
relatives or my children, we never had any children though. My
relatives misused the money I gave to them as they keep asking
for more money which is against my wish and goal. Please contact
my doctor now before it's too late via email to:
alexwu8971@outlook.com
I will need the following information from you;
1. YOUR FULL NAMES:
2. YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS:
3. YOUR NATIONALITY:
4. COUNTRY WHERE YOU NOW LIVE:
5. YOUR AGE/DATE OF BIRTH:
6. MALE/FEMALE:
7. YOUR JOB/COMPANY:
8. YOUR MOBILE NUMBER:
9. YOUR REACHABLE EMAIL ADDRESS:
You should once again send all information to the following
Doctor to claim the fund;
Please Contact: Dr. Alex Wu by Email: alexwu1101@outlook.com
My Doctor will be waiting to receive your reply to this request
to his email address: alexwu8971@outlook.com. Remember that my
time here on earth is very short lived.
Mrs. Joan R. Gates (Patient)
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Anti-fraud resources:
