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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:
- "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mrs. Berenice" <tourewassahayacouba@gmail.com>
Reply-To: brnclouise@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2022 20:26:14 +0000
Subject: Honestly
How are you doing and your family.
I'm Mrs. Berenice Louise. I have a fund of 3,600,000.00 EURO that I
inherited from my late husband that I want to donate through you for
orphanage and charity project, but I have been suffering from cancer
illness for so long now which I have been admitted in a hospital for
treatment. My fear now is what the doctor informed me, after series of
tests on me that I may not live long because of the sickness and I'm afraid
of losing this fund to the government because they don't care about the
poor ones in the society.
I will appreciate your honesty and courage to handle this fund to help the
orphans and the charity home.
As soon as I receive your message regarding your interest in this fund to
help the charity home and the less privileges, I will give you more details
about this fund.
God bless you while I'm waiting for your answer.
Your sister.
Mrs. Berenice Louise
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Anti-fraud resources: